The NotsoPerfect Perfectionist
by number1stormhawksfan
Summary: Alexis is a rare being from a strange terra. When she escapes her terra, her world spirals into a journey. OCxDA I suck at summaries. More info inside! The Dark Ace and Master Cyclonis may be OOC! WARNING: OCs
1. Information Chapter

Me: How rude of me. I have another story going and I start another one. Oh well, I got the idea so I figured that I'd use it before I forgot it.

Finn: You even wrote it down.

Me: Yeah. I wrote it down and school so that I'd remember the idea through the day. I'm also gonna write the chapters on paper first so that I can work on them in school and get the chapters to you faster!

Finn: You're a nerd.

Me: Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Unless you write those words down and tape them to a rock and hit me with a rock. Then, the words will hurt me.

Finn: That's a pretty good idea. Hmm…

Me: It's my idea too, so don't you steal it. That goes for anyone reading my story too. I don't own Stork Hawks, sadly, but I do own my idea and Alexis! This is pretty much an informational chapter.

Finn: In other words, boring.

Me: Shut up. No it's not. Just read this and you'll understand the story better. Enjoy!

Name: Alexis Krystal Smith

Description: White, shoulder-length hair that covers her ears; light blue eyes; small nose; thin mouth; white, sparkling skin; small shoulders; slender; white dress; barefoot; white wings like an angel. She doesn't have the perfect mind that the other Perfectionists have. She thinks more like a regular human. She hates her terra, and sees it as a prison that she needs to escape. She can't use her wings to fly off though, because the terra will sense her leaving presence and she will be arrested. There are no skimmers on Terra Perfection for that reason. The Perfectionists could fly off on a skimmer without being noticed. Alexis wants to be in a squadron, but because of a lung disease, (I don't know what it's called! I'm not a doctor!) she is the weakest and smallest Perfectionist. If something surprises her, she'll start having trouble breathing and take short, quick breaths. Otherwise, she acts pretty regular, like a human.

Home: Terra Perfection

Details of home: Everyone born on Terra Perfection looks perfect. All of them are supposed to think the same and follow the same schedule every day. There is no foul language or foul behavior. The entire terra is white. If anyone with a dark soul, like a Cyclonian, touches a Perfectionist, someone from Terra Perfection, the spot where they were touched will turn black, unless it was the skin. If their skin is touched, then it stops sparkling.

Me: There! All the info you'll ever need.

Finn: What's with the lung disease?

Me: It makes a more interesting story. Do you have something against people with lung disease?

Finn: N…

Me: Before you answer, keep in mind that I have lung disease! I'll beat you up!

Finn: Yeah right! You couldn't beat up the Finn! You're a wimp.

Me: I'm stronger than you, even with lung disease!

Finn: Fine. Bring it!

Me: No! I have readers hopefully. It may be a while before the actual story is started. I'm just starting the rough draft! Review if you want on your opinion on the story. I promise not to make Alexis a Mary-Sue! Byeeee! lol


	2. Show Me Your Colours

Chapter 1-** Show Me Your Colours**

**Me: First chapter! Yay!… I have absolutely no idea what to say, for once.**

**Junko: How about the disclaimer?**

**Me: Okay! Wait… You do it.**

**Junko: Why?**

**Me: Just do it.**

**Junko: Number1stormhawksfan doesn't own Storm Hawks, but she does own Alexis, the Perfectionists, and Terra Perfection.**

**Me: Shortest author's note in the history of me! Enjoy the chapter!**

************

**I groaned as I woke up. Same schedule as every day. Wake up, get ready, go to classes, get home, finish homework, eat supper, free time, bed, repeat. I kept my hair down because that was how all girls were supposed to wear their hair on Terra Perfection. The only difference in my school day was that I went to the nurse once a day to get my vital signs. If my heartbeat was irregular, I had to be watched closely. It sucked.**

**I walked into the school only to be stopped by the fire alarm. I met up with Erin. "What's going on?" I asked**

"**Someone pulled the fire alarm." She told me. Then, she walked away. No one really hung around me because I was so different.**

**I bet it was William. He was the only other person who was different like me. He was awesome.**

**We stood outside for ten minutes, then we were dismissed back in. I glanced into the office and saw William. Yep. I knew it. **

**The rest of the day went by without notice until my last hour. William walked into class. He was my only friend in this stupid excuse for a school.**

"**Did you pull the fire alarm?" I asked him.**

"**No… Yes." William lowered his head, acting ashamed. We both started laughing. "You know what I saw? A light in the sky! I think it was a skimmer. During free time, we should go look. I could help you get off the terra." William told me. **

"**Will, what about you?' I asked.**

"**Oh, I'll get off eventually. You'll never get off without me." William said.**

"**Well, okay." I said hesitantly. **

"**Great. Meet me at the western edge of the forest tonight." William said.**

**The bell rang and I walked home to do some homework. Oh, the pain! Algebra! I did my homework and ate supper. Then, I left to go to the forest.**

"**hey." Will told me. We walked together through the pure white forest. Suddenly, we noticed some colour. We both gasped. We had never seen much colour before. **

**The skimmer was faded red and blue with brown rust on them, not that I knew that at the time. **

"**Well, get on." Will told me. He pulled the ride up and I got on. I held onto the handlebars. "Go." Will told me.**

"**I, I don't know how. Will, I'm scared. What if my lungs give out and I crash?" I asked. This was my life, living in constant fear.**

**I took a short breath. "No, stay calm. You'll be just fine. Go and find one of those sky knight squadrons and they'll take care of you. Stay away from red ships. Those are bad people who will hurt you." Will told me.**

**I twisted the handlebars and the skimmer started. I gasped and Will patted my back. "To pull out the wings, push the handlebars toward the skimmer. Now go, and find a squadron. Will told me. I took off and flew away. I couldn't breathe until I was finally out of Terra Perfection boundaries. **

**Yes! I was free! I laughed out loud. Now, to find a squadron. The first ship that I saw was gray with the symbol of a hawk. Again, I didn't know the colours at the time.* The ship wasn't red, which was the only colour we knew, so I started to fly toward it.**

**We knew the colour red because we were told to stay away from it. Our teachers always said, "Red is bad. Red is deadly. Stay away from it." I didn't know how Will knew about the bad people. He was acting like he'd been off the terra before. Had he?**

**Lost in my thoughts, I hardly noticed when the skimmer's controls went wild. What was happening? The skimmer started to descend. I took a short gasp for breath. I had no idea what to do, and the skimmer was falling faster. My lungs were screaming for air. My breath was getting shallower and shallower. I would use my wings to fly, but the only flying I'd ever done was in Flying Ed, and I could breathe then. Oh well, I had to try.**

**All this went through my head in about ten seconds. Then, I did it. I jumped. Falling, I felt weightless. I spread out my wings, but I still prepared myself for impact with the ground.**

**The impact never came. I opened my eyes and looked around. I was in the air, unharmed, flying! I flapped my wings and flew higher. I flew toward the ship that I'd seen. I had absolutely no idea what to expect, but I couldn't breathe and I needed help.**

************

"**There's something up ahead and it's falling." Stork announced to Aerrow on the Condor. Piper looked through the scopes.**

"**It's a girl. Her skimmer malfunctioned, it looks like." She announced. Then, they saw the girl spread wings and fly into the air.**

"**Dude. Last time I checked, chicks don't usually sprout wings and fly." Finn said. A prediction of what the girl was immediately sprang into Piper's mind. She hurried to get one of her books.**

"**She's all white. There's no colour." Junko noticed.**

"**Exactly. You know what has no colour?" Piper asked, entering the main room again.**

"**She's flying toward us! Just tell us what she is!" Stork exclaimed, freaking out, as usual.**

"**She's a Perfectionist." Piper said.**

"**Like Ravess?" Finn asked.**

"**No. Like someone from terra Perfection." Piper corrected.**

"**Isn't Terra Perfection just a fairy tale?" Aerrow asked.**

"**Apparently not." Piper said.**

"**Maybe she's just dressing up and bringing us our doom." Stork offered.**

"**Let's let her on. She looks kind of small. We could take her if she was bad." Piper suggested.**

"**You're right, Piper. I'll go out and get her." Aerrow offered.**

************

**I was closing in on the ship when a skimmer flew out and started to fly toward me. I stopped flying toward the ship. What if they attacked me? No. Will told me that they wouldn't hurt me as long as they weren't red. Then, I saw a head of **_**red**_** hair.**

**I turned to fly away, but someone grabbed my wrist. My lungs were still acting up. "Are you okay?" The person asked. It was a boy. He pulled me down onto the skimmer. I was shaking and gasping.**

**He started to fly quickly back to the ship. What if the skimmer crashed again? "Is there something wrong?" The boy asked. **_**No, I'm just gasping for breath!**_** I wouldn't answer. I refused to let a red person know my weakness.**

**The boy enter the ship and had to force me inside. He didn't hurt me though. This confused me. Will said that the bad people would hurt me. I backed away from the red boy. He could still be dangerous.**

**I looked at the rest of them. There were more people in the room. I decided that the only other human boy was the least threat. Other than him and the red boy, there was a girl with an eye colour close to red, a rhino-like guy, a green guy, and a blue rodent.**

**I scooted close to the non-threatening human boy. "What's wrong?" The red boy asked.**

"**You have red. You're a bad person." I said.**

"**No…" The red boy began.**

"**Wait!" The girl exclaimed. Everyone turned to her. She went into automatic info mode.**

" **Red is the only colour that Perfectionists know. The associated red with the bad people, or as we call them, the Cyclonians. A way to prove that you're not a Cyclonian is to touch them. A bad soul will turn their clothes black, their hair black, and their eyes red. A bad touch on their skin will make their skin stop sparkling." The girl explained. Wow. She really had it down. **

"**Finn, she seems to trust you. Try to talk her into letting me touch her." The red boy told the other human boy, Finn.**

"**Okay. I can charm her…" Finn was interrupted by the girl.**

"**No, Finn. You will not charm her." She said. Did they not know that I could understand them?**

**Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned. It was the red boy! I jumped up angrily. "Don't touch me!" I exclaimed. I gasped for breath.**

"**Let us help you. Look at your shoulder. I'm not a bad person. None of us are." The red boy assured me. It was true. My shoulder hadn't changed. I guess they weren't that bad.**

"**Okay." I said quietly, suspiciously.**

"**Can you tell us what's wrong with you?" The red boy asked. **

"**I have a lung disease. Do you have any oxygen?" I asked.**

"**Like an oxygen mask?" The girl asked. I nodded, taking a gasp. "We have one. Hold on." She left quickly.**

"**While she's gone, we'll start introducing ourselves. I'm Aerrow." The red boy said.**

"**I'm Junko." The rhino-like thing said. I looked at him curiously. "I'm a wallop." He explained, sweetly.**

"**I'm… I'm Stork. I'm a… merb." The green guy stuttered, his left eye twitching. **

**The blue thing squawked. "That's Radarr." Aerrow explained. I gasped again, desperately needing air, and the girl entered with an oxygen mask. She slipped it over my head.**

"**Is that better?" She asked. I nodded. Finally, I took the oxygen mask off, feeling a lot stronger.**

"**I've met everyone else. Who are you?' I asked the girl.**

"**I'm Piper. Why don't you tell us how you got here." The girl suggested.**

"**Well, I never fit in on Terra Perfection. I didn't think like the rest of them. Also, because of my lung disease, I was smaller and weaker than everyone else. I guess you could say that I'm the not-so-perfect Perfectionist. Will, my best friend, found a skimmer and helped me off the terra. He was always like a big brother to me. Now, here I am." I explained.**

"**I've never really met a Perfectionist before." Piper gushed, getting giddy with excitement.**

"**Of course. I'm the only Perfectionist whose ever left." I told her.**

"**That's exactly why word of you can't get out. If the Cyclonians caught word of you, then they might have a reason to want you. Master Cyclonis would want to study you." Aerrow told me. I was confused.**

"**Master Cyclonis?" I asked. **

"**A bad person. Watch out. She doesn't wear red. You'd have to tell solely on touch. Piper warned me. I didn't like the sound of that.**

"**What colour is…" I paused, not knowing whether this Master Cyclonis was a girl or boy.**

"_**She**_** is purple and black." Piper explained. I was confused. "Here. This is purple," she held up a crystal, "and this is black." She held up another crystal. I quickly memorized the colours.**

"**What are some other colours?' I asked curiously.**

"**Well, my eyes are orange." Piper explained. **_**Okay, so red, purple, black, and orange. **_**"Finn's hair is blonde, which is kind of like yellow." Piper told me. I added yellow to my mental list. "My hair is midnight blue and your eyes are light blue You understand about shades, right?" Piper asked. I nodded. **

**Shades were the only way to tell colour on Terra Perfection. I got the main point of blue. I added it to my mental list. **

_**Red, orange, yellow, blue, purple, and black. White if you include that as a colour.**_

**Piper continued with her "lesson." "Stork's skin is green." She said. I added that to my list. "Junko's skin is light brown." She said. She looked around. "I need something pink." She announced. **

**Suddenly, she ran to her room and came back with a crystal. "This is pink." She told me. **_**Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, black, white, and brown.**_******

"**Storm Hawks, do you read?" A British voice came through the room. I looked around. Where was the voice coming from?**

**Aerrow picked up a radio and said, "We read you Starling." I watched him talk into the radio. I'd only seen a radio once. I didn't know that you could talk into them.**

"**The Cyclonians and Raptors are trying to take over Terra Blizzaris again." The voice, Starling, said.**

"**We'll be there to help as soon as we can." Aerrow told Starling, who I recognized from the voice to be a girl.**

"**Thanks." Starling said. Aerrow turned back to me.**

"**That only leaves another problem. How do we keep you safe and hidden?" He looked at his teammates for ideas.**

"**She could stay on the ship in one of the guest rooms." Junko offered. I perked up. They were going to let me stay?**

"**Maybe we should drop her off somewhere…" Aerrow started.**

"**No!" I exclaimed. Everyone looked at me in surprise. I blushed. "Where would I go?"**

"**She has a point. If we just leave her somewhere, there's a greater chance of Cyclonians finding… We never got your name!" Piper noticed. **

"**My name is Alexis Krystal Smith." I told them.**

"**Fine. She'll stay on the ship, but if Cyclonians do board, then hide. Hide from anyone who's not one of us." Aerrow told me.**

"**I'll take you to your room, Alexis." Piper told me. She explained things to me as we walked. The most important was the name of the ship, the Condor.**

**We entered a room. It wasn't very big, but it had a bed and a small window. It also had a desk with a few papers, pens, pencils, and erasers on it.**

"**Do you know how to write?" Piper asked. I nodded and to prove it, wrote my name. **_**Alexis Krystal Smith**_*****. I looked up at Piper, wondering why she was so curious all the time. "Remember to hide from anyone except us." She reminded me, then left.**

**I looked out the window to discover that we were on the ground. There was white powder, snow, everywhere. There were also a bunch of people in red and green. Red! Bad people! Those were the Cyclonians, and they were closing in on the ship.**

************

**Me: Stars! Better read them!**

***- How am I supposed to describe things without colours? It's hard!**

****- The colour lesson was actually really hard to do because I didn't know how to describe the colours. Sorry if it's bad or boring.**

*****- Wow. Lots of stars. Lol The name's supposed to be in cursive, but it's in italics because I can't upload writing like that. Just use your imagination.**

**Aerrow: That's a lot of stars.**

**Me: I know! I promise not to do so many next time. (crosses fingers)**

**Aerrow: Why are you crossing your fingers?**

**Me: (gasp) I am doing no such thing! )whispers) I don't know if I'll have more stars in the next chapter or not. I haven't written it yet.**

**Aerrow: …**

**Me: So… This took seventeen pages on notebook paper, and eight pages on the computer. Remember, I worked really hard on this all for you!**

**Aerrow: I helped.**

**Me: No, you didn't.**

**Aerrow: Yes, I did.**

**Me: No, you didn't.**

**Aerrow: Yes, I did.**

**Me: NO, YOU DIDN'T!**

**Aerrow: YES, I…**

**Connection lost**

**Word count: 2,596**


	3. Battle for Blizzaris Part 1

**Chapter 2**- Battle for Blizzaris Part 1

Me: Thank you MageofMusic for reviewing!

Dark Ace: Is there gonna be any action in this chapter, or are we gonna learn shapes now?

Me: There will be a lot of action, but I could teach shapes too. You gotta learn sometime, Ace.

Dark Ace: I know my shapes…!

Me: Don't be embarrassed. I still have to use my fingers to add and subtract.

Dark Ace: Only one difference, I don't really not know my shapes. You really have to use your fingers to add and subtract.

Me: Shut up and do the disclaimer.

Dark Ace: Number1stormhawksfan does not own Storm Hawks…

Me: But I don own Alexis, Terra Perfection, Will, the Perfectionists, and my idea!

Dark Ace: Hey! You interrupted me!

Me: So? That's your punishment for making fun of me. Enjoy the story!

********

I watched the Cyclonians for a little bit before ducking below the window so they wouldn't see me. I looked around for a place to hide if they did board the ship.

********

Meanwhile, outside, Aerrow had his energy blades out, fighting through talons as he searched for the Dark Ace. He had to be here. Ravess and Snipe were here too, but there were so many talons. The Dark Ace had to be here to lead so many talons.

Finally, he heard the unmistakable laugh. "Such a pleasure to see you again, Aerrow. I was hoping that you'd show up. Your Interceptor friend was becoming a bore." The Dark Ace said, then laughed.

"Where is she?" Aerrow demanded.

"Oh, she's still fighting my talons. Neither of you will be winning today." The Dark Ace said. He pulled out his own energy blade and connected it with Aerrow's.

Aerrow was the first to pull away from the connection. Then, he dropped down and tried to trip the Dark Ace with a sweeping motion, but the dark Ace jumped out of the way. Aerrow jumped up as fast as he could and landed a punch. The Dark Ace was quick to land a punch on Aerrow and then trip him. The Dark Ace raised his sword and prepared to bring it down.

********

I had set my sights on the desk and was crawling toward it. Fighting had broke out outside, and that was never a good sign.

I crawled under the desk. I raised myself up on my knees slightly, and looked out the window. The Storm Hawks were taking on the talons, but there were so many! How could they beat them all? Aerrow seemed to be having trouble fighting with a man with raven black hair and red eyes. The man looked strangely familiar…

********

Piper was trying her best to keep the talons away from the rest of the team. Her staff was being overly used. It wasn't that the talons were hard to beat because they weren't. It was the fact that there were so many.

She shot blasts from her staff while mentally going through her supply of crystals. A Blizzard Crystal would be handy. It would take longer for it to run out of juice because it was so cold on the terra.

Piper decided to use the Blizzard Crystal and switched her attacks to sky fu while she loaded her staff with the Blizzard Crystal. Then, she froze a troublesome group of talons. She had to work fast so that the talons didn't have time to attack.

Piper froze the rest of the talons around her and then moved to help her team. She froze the talons around Finn first. He was having enough trouble fighting off Ravess as it was.

She was about to help Junko out when the Blizzard Crystal ran out of juice. Unfortunately, one of the more elite talons saw this as his chance to attack her.

The talon shot Piper to the ground with his staff and advanced on her.

********

I continued to watch the man that Aerrow was fighting. I could _not_ figure out what was so familiar about him. The only person that I really knew was Will, and he was back on Terra Perfection.

Then, it hit me. Will's father had disappeared from Terra Perfection. I thought that I was the first Perfectionist to leave Terra Perfection, but maybe Will's father had left and this world had turned him evil.

Will's father had been a good man. If this world did that to him, what could it do to me?

********

Finn was doing much better since Piper had gotten rid of the talons. Well… A lot is quite a bit of an over-statement. He still had to face Ravess, and he was _not_ doing so hot.

Ravess and her bow and arrow were becoming quite a problem for Finn. Since Ravess' arrows could go through his arrows, he couldn't get a shot in. Ravess, on the other hand, had gotten many shots in, and Finn was getting more than a little weary.

"Tired already, Storm Hawk?" Ravess taunted.

"Not even! The Finn could take you with my eyes closed!" Finn retorted. Ravess smirked at the sharpshooter's lame comeback.

"I'll take that bet." She said. Finn, angered, shot his arrow, which was faced by Ravess' arrow. After that arrow, which Finn dodged, she shot another arrow, which Finn failed to notice.

********

The sight of Will's father was bothering me, so I turned my sights to every little detail of the room. I counted the nails that held the walls together, one hundred fifty-seven. I had counted the patches that patched leaks on the ceiling, fifty-three. I had counted the patches that patched the patches, nineteen. Something had to happen soon.

*******

Junko wasn't having too much trouble with Snipe because he was all muscle and absolutely no brains. Junko hit his fists together and powered up his knuckle busters. He landed a punch on Snipe before Snipe even saw him coming. "No one hits Snipe!" Snipe thundered.

"I just did." Junko countered.

"Snipe will never lose to a weak Storm Hawks gleep like you!" Snipe yelled.

"I. Am. Not. A. GLEEP!" Junko thundered, hitting Snipe again. This last hit knocked him out cold. Junko was then able to face the rest of the talons. Letting out a battle roar, he lit his knuckle busters and charged into the crowd of talons.

********

I had stopped watching the extremely violent battle and sat facing the wall. Hopefully, I'd _never_ have to fight. This was awful! I'd never seen anything like it on Terra Perfection. I had been just sitting for a while when the ship shook. I glanced outside. They were attacking the ship.

********

The Dark Ace was about to bring his sword down and end that troublesome sky knight's life, but he dodged. The Dark Ace gritted his teeth as he connected swords with the sky brat.

Suddenly, he felt a familiar tension in the air. It was something that he'd felt all his life, but had been torn away from him just one day ago. Well, not really torn away form him. He had thrown her away from him to save her from her prison of a life. It was Alexis.

During this moment of distraction, the Dark Ace felt a force on his face, followed by pain. The sky brat had landed another punch, and he had a mean right hook! No. The Dark Ace couldn't concentrate on that now. He had to concentrate on getting Alexis. She'd be scared of him, but he had to get her before the Storm Hawks took her back home.

"Talons! Attack the ship! Don't hurt the girl who's inside! Bring her to me!" The Dark Ace commanded.

"No! How did you figure out?" Aerrow demanded.

"Let's just say we go back." The Dark Ace said, smirking.

********

The talons were still storming the ship, but it seemed that they were trying to actually get in. I was curled as small as I could get under the desk.

Suddenly, a siren went off and I heard a bunch of footsteps. The blood ran from my already pale face. The Cyclonians were on board.

********

Ravess smirked as her last arrow made its way toward the unsuspecting sharpshooter. He stepped out of the way and it missed him. Ravess growled at the coincidence that had ruined her perfect shot and fired an arrow at the rocks below the Storm Hawks' feet.

This plan worked. The rocks below him crumbled and he fell a short distance, knocking him out.

Ravess made her way to the Dark Ace, who had just called an attack on the Condor to retrieve a girl. "Who is this girl you are wanting?" Ravess asked.

"It's another Perfectionist. I helped her escape." The Dark Ace replied. Aerrow had retreated to the ship to try and protect Alexis. Ravess watched the Dark Ace suspiciously. Someone had a crush!

"Why, Dark Ace! I didn't know you were capable of love." Ravess taunted.

"I'm not in love with her, you idiot!" The Dark Ace snapped, a little too quickly. Ravess smirked and turned toward the ship.

"If you're not in love with her, then why are you saving her and trying to bring her to Cyclonia with you?" Ravess asked. How she loved tormenting him!

"She's a good friend. Besides, she's way younger than me. I couldn't love her." The Dark Ace said matter-of-factly.

"How much younger is she?" Ravess pushed.

"Ten years." The Dark Ace muttered. This made Ravess freeze. The Dark Ace, _the_ Dark Ace, who had never shown any sign of love before, was in love with a thirteen year-old? She almost started laughing.

"You can't love a thirteen year-old. Anyway, are you even sure that she won't be scared of you?" Ravess asked.

"She will be scared of me. She's not really thirteen. It's just her body that is. Perfectionists bodies stop growing and changing at thirteen years. That's how I aged so quickly when I first turned to Cyclonia. Once a Perfectionist leaves terra Perfection, their body turns to its normal age, but hers will never age. She has a disease that will prevent her from ever aging." The Dark Ace explained. Why was he even sharing this with Ravess?

"How old is she really then?" Ravess asked.

"She'll be eighteen in a few days." That wasn't so much younger. She looked up at the ship and saw the talons enter. They were in.

********

I had covered my mouth to make sure that the talons didn't hear me. I was almost in a meditation state, trying to keep my breaths even. I hadn't had lung issues in so long, and now I was having way too many today. Too much stress, too many surprises, too many problems. The fire alarm incident was a thing of the past, but I longed to see Will again. He had always been the best as keeping me calm.

Footsteps entered the room and I froze. I kept taking deep breaths, but tried to quiet them. There were two pairs of feet, two people. One was right by the desk. If he were to move his left foot, I'd be caught.

The other talon was slowly walking around the room, searching. If he got to the far end of the room and looked at the desk, he'd see me.

Finally, the footsteps retreated. I let out a sigh of relief. "Wait. Did you check under the desk?" One talon asked. _No!_

"No. I guess we better." The other talon said. I huddled closer to the wall and closed my eyes. I heard the chair next to the desk move, and when I opened my eyes, I was looking into the eyes of the talon.

"There she is." The talon said. Then, he spoke into his radio, "We found her."

"Good. Bring her to me."

********

Me: Done! Look! No stars! I really put my heart and soul in this chapter! Lol I think I wrote some of it in a trance because I read over it and I didn't remember writing some of it. I must've been entranced in the Super Bowl. Lol There will most likely be some fluff in this story from here on out between Alexis and the Dark Ace. No flames! If you don't like fluff, don't read!

Dark Ace: I get to say 'review' because _you_ interrupted me while I was doing the disclaimer.

Me: Whatever. Why do you care anyway?

Dark Ace: You let Aerrow do it.

Me: No, I didn't. We started fighting. Aerrow isn't allowed in here anymore.

Dark Ace: Why not?

Me: He tried to take credit for my story.

Dark Ace: You're childish.

Me: Am not!

Aerrow: Yeah, you're childish.

Me: How did you get in?

Aerrow: All you did was tell me to get out and close the door.

Me: Yeah! I thought that would work.

Aerrow: Well, it didn't! Are you calling me stupid?

Me: Yes.

Aerrow: That was uncalled for…

Dark Ace: Review! HA!

Aerrow: What?

Me: Jealous. Just review please! If you review I'll reward you with a pat on the back, but you have to do it on your own.

Dark Ace: Review!

Me: Bye! This took sixteen pages of notebook paper and seven computer pages!

Word count: 2222


	4. Battle for Blizzaris Part 2

**Chapter 3-** Battle for Blizzaris Part Two

Me: Okay! I've invited everyone here because we're going to agree not to fight anymore!

Everyone: Ugghhhhh!

Me: Okay! Repeat after me. I promise not to start anymore fights with the author or anyone else.

Master Cyclonis: I promise…

Piper: not to…

Dark Ace: start…

Aerrow: anymore fights…

Ravess: with…

Finn: the author…

Snipe: or…

Junko: anyone…

Stork: else.

Me: Yay! Peace! Master Cyclonis, you do the disclaimer!

Master Cyclonis: Number1stormhawksfan does not own Storm Hawks, but she does own Alexis, Will, the Perfectionists, Terra Perfection, and her idea.

********

I pushed into the wall away from the talons. One reached towards me and I flinched. He froze. "We're never gonna get her out of there without carrying her out." One said. I froze. No. They could _not_ carry me. I wouldn't allow it!

The other talon sighed and reached toward me. I flinched again, but he didn't stop. He grabbed me arm and pulled me out from under the desk. He let go and I looked at my arm. The part where he had touched me wasn't sparkling. I had never dreamed that this would veer really happen to me.

"Do you want to come quietly, or will we have to force you out?" The talons who had pulled me out, talon number two, asked. My stomach churned at the thought of the talons touching me again.

"I'll come." I said quietly. I stood up and gasped quietly. Talon number two led the way with the other talon, talon number one, following me. We used the cover of all the other talons to avoid the Storm Hawks.

My desperate gasps for air were becoming more frequent now.

Talon number two stopped. Then, both the talons moved away from me. I looked up to see Will's father. I gasped and stared at him, waiting to see what he would do. He had a caring look in his eyes, which surprised me.

He reached out to touch my shoulder, but I flinched away. He quickly pulled his hand away. He was so confusing…

********

Piper groaned and pushed herself up into a sitting position. The talon had attacked her and she'd been knocked out. She looked around. All the talons were attacking the Condor. Oh no. Alexis!

Piper stood and picked up her staff. She started to run toward the Condor. As she was running, she once again mentally searched through her crystals.

She could use an Aqua Crystal and wash out a bunch of the talons. That's what she would do. She loaded her staff and washed away one group. The group stopped fighting and started trying to get dry because it was so cold.

Piper continued to use this tactic until she joined her team members in Alexis' empty room.

******** Finn had awakened just a short time before Piper. It took him a while to find his crossbow. There were talon staffs everywhere.

When he finally found his crossbow, it clicked that there were no talons around him. He stood and looked around. Had they won? He looked at the Condor. There they were. Wait. Wasn't he supposed to be helping everyone defend… what's-her-name? Yeah! He was!

He started to walk toward the Condor. He loaded his crossbow and aimed it at talons as he forced his way through the crowd. Surprisingly, he made it all the way before any talons knocked him out again. He mentally patted himself on the back as he made his way to the girl's room.

Alexis! That was her name. He entered her room. Everyone except piper was there and the talons were beginning to retreat. Finn cheered, "Yeah! We showed them!" Then, he realized that not only was Piper missing, but Alexis was as well.

The rest of the team was looking around the room. "Aerrow, no one could hide _this_ good. We have to bet out there. They took her." Junko was trying to talk some sense into Aerrow, who was desperately searching for Alexis.

Then, Piper ran in. She had washed a few talons away. It would be easy to go after them, but they had to go _now_.

********

Aerrow was the second to make it to the ship. He'd left to help Alexis right after the Dark Ace had called the attack. He was too late though.

Radarr met him in the ship, whining. Aerrow invited him to follow him closely. Aerrow fought his way though the talons toward the front of the ship. Stork had fainted. Of course. He shouldn't have left him to watch Alexis.

Stork was just coming around when Aerrow reached him. "Come on Stork! The Cyclonians are after Alexis!" Aerrow exclaimed.

"Oh no! No! I am not going anywhere near these germ infested talons, and I don't trust that _girl_!" Stork exclaimed.

"So you just want to stay here? Alone? With all the germ infested talons? Not…"

"Okay! I'm coming! Wait for me!" Stork yelled, rocketing past Aerrow and down the hall toward Alexis' room. Aerrow followed him in. Junko was already there.

"She's gone, Aerrow. They took her." Junko said, looking broken-hearted.

"No! She has to be here. Look everywhere!" Aerrow commanded. He couldn't have lost her! He couldn't have let her down! He, Junko, and Stork started searching the room.

Finn entered, cheering, and was told to start searching. "We have to get out there. They took her." Junko said. Aerrow refused to give up. He was also stalling and waiting for Piper.

When Piper entered and saw the empty room, she caught on immediately. It was true. Alexis was gone, but they _had_ to save her.

********

Junko had jumped into action when he saw the talons boarding the Condor. How had they figured out about Alexis?

He pounded his fists together and his knuckle busters glowed green. It took him _forever_ to fight off all the talons. He made it though. He had to knock a few, _quite_ a few heads, but soon he entered Alexis' room.

The room was virtually empty, but he hoped that she was just a good hider. "Alexis? It's Junko! You can come out." He called. There was no response. She was gone.

Stork entered, followed by Radarr and Aerrow. "They took her." Junko told him.

"No. Keep looking." Aerrow commanded. They were searching when Finn and Piper entered as well. They all searched for a few minutes in some other rooms before Piper spoke.

"They have her and they're going to leave with her if we don't stop them _now_, Aerrow!" She exclaimed. Aerrow frowned, sure that, in all the time that he'd wasted, Alexis had had plenty of time to meet the Dark Ace, and that was definitely not a good thing.

"Okay, guys. Let's go." He commanded.

********

I had started gasping very frequently now. I could tell that Will's father really wanted to help me, but I wouldn't let anyone touch me. Finally, he spoke.

"Talons! Back to your rides!" He commanded. We waited for a little bit until we were alone. Then, he asked, "Don't you recognize me, Alexis?"

"Aren't you Will's father?" I asked. The man smiled and chuckled.

"I suppose I should've expected that. No. I'm not Will's father." He told me. This confused me horribly. Who was he? The man sighed and said, "Alexis, I'm Will."

I stared at him, shocked. I finally spoke in a shaky voice. "W, Will?" I was so confused. How did Will get off Terra Perfection? How did he turn evil so fast? Part of me wanted to hug him, and part of me wanted to scream and run away.

"Yeah. It's me, Will." I gasped. He tried to touch me again, but I moved away.

"How did you turn red so fast?" I asked.

"Why don't we go back to Cyclonia and I'll explain everything there." Will offered.

"No! I need an explanation! What are you doing here? How are you even here?" I demanded. Will sighed and reached toward me again. I jumped away and exclaimed, "Will! Answer me!"

"Don't call me Will."

"Why not?"

"Please, Alexis. Don't call me Will."

"Okay. What do you want me to call you?"

"Most people call me the Dark Ace, but you can call me Ace."

"So, in the few hours you were here, you turned evil and changed your name? What is going on here?"

"We'd like to know that too." I turned to the new voice. The Storm Hawks. I turned back to Will, Ace. I stared at him, waiting for him to explain.

"Not to _them_." He told me, saying 'them' like one would say 'roach.'

"I'll just tell them anyway." I told him. He sighed.

"You were always stubborn. Okay, I've been evil for a _long_ time. Fourteen years maybe. I was a Perfectionist, but I escaped, just like you did. I turned evil, or red. Master Cyclonis figured out how to turn me back to a Perfectionist and sent me to Terra Perfection to do research for her. This is why I never acted like any other Perfectionists. Then, I found you. You didn't act like any of the Perfectionists either. You did what you wanted, when you wanted. You were actually a source of entertainment for me, watching you face off against everyone like a little warrior." He chuckled. "At first, I suspected that you had escaped and come back as well, but you were too naïve about the outside world. I finally talked to you one day, and you became one of my first and closest friends."

I looked away. I'd replayed the story so many times, but it sounded weird coming out of Ace's mouth. It was wrong, like the story was just a fictional fairy tale told to reassure me.

"You always talked about how you wanted to get off the terra and explore the Atmos. I vowed that one day, I would get you off the terra. Then, that day came. I left and got another skimmer from nearby, then I hid it in the woods. I had always kept my skimmer in the garage."

_So that's why he'd never let me into his garage._

"The next day, you were in a particularly bad mood, so I decided to do something big to make you laugh. I figured that if you were in a bad mood, you wouldn't want to come to the forest with me."

"So you pulled the fire alarm." I finished, a smile tugging at my lips. Ace smiled back, relieved that I'd actually smiled.

"Yes. The, I told you about the light in the sky and took you to the skimmer. That's how I knew so much about how to drive it. I helped you leave and then I left myself, eager to find you and introduce you to this world." Ace finished.

"If you're a Cyclonian, whi did you tell me to find a sky knight squadron? Wouldn't it have been easier to get to me if I was on one of your ships?" I asked.

"The other Cyclonians didn't know about you and I didn't want anyone else to find you before me because they'd take you prisoner." Ace explained.

"How do we know you're not lying?" Aerrow demanded. Ace opened his mouth, but I spoke first.

"He's not." I said. Ace smiled at me and Aerrow glared at us both.

"Okay. How do you know?" He asked.

"No one could've told our story in that much detail unless they were there." I said. Ace smiled once again.

"Now that you know the story and that I'm not lying, come with me to Cyclonia." Ace told me.

"No! Don't do it, Alexis!" Piper warned. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to go with Ace, but everyone was saying that it was a bad idea. He'd been my best friend my entire life, but he was evil. He'd taken care of me like an older brother, and he was being nice to me. The pros outnumbered the cons. I _wanted_ to go with Ace, but I wished he wasn't taking me to Cyclonia.

He could see my resolve cracking. He reached to my shoulder once again and this time I let him touch me. It left a black mark on my sleeve, but I didn't care. I threw my arms around him and felt that same old comforting embrace. It was Will. "I thought I was never going to see you again." I told him.

"I'll never leave you unless you want me to." Ace told me. I smiled and turned back to the Storm Hawks. I was quite stained with black now. Aerrow looked outraged. The others, with the exception of Stork, seemed ready to attack when Aerrow gave the word.

"I want to go with him, Aerrow. Thank you for your assistance today, but I'd like to go with my friend now." I said slowly, thinking about my words carefully.

"You can't go with him. He's trying to a _bad_ place. A _true _friend wouldn't take you there. You can stay with us, or we can take you back home." Aerrow told me harshly.

"Aerrow, I'm not a little kid. You can't tell me what to do." I said.

"How old are you? Eleven, twelve?" Aerrow asked.

"I'm seventeen. I'll turn eighteen in a few days." I told him. He looked surprised. My smile was small, but I _did_ smile. "You look surprised." I said.

"How are you older than us? You're half my size!" Finn exclaimed, pouting.

"Oh, stop pouting. All Perfectionists are small." I told him.

"Then why doesn't he look like an eleven year-old?" Aerrow demanded, referring to Ace.

"I actually have the body of a thirteen year-old, I'm just smaller because of my disease. Also, my disease causes me not to be able to grow, even when I leave Terra Perfection. Most Perfectionists would grow when they left." I explained.

"I bet Master Cyclonis could rid you of your lung disease. It'd make your life a lot easier." Ace told me. I widened my eyes.

"Really?" I asked excitedly. I couldn't even imagine how great that would be! I wouldn't have to worry about being scared anymore. I wouldn't have to take vital signs anymore. Maybe… "Would I grow?" I asked. Ace looked at me sadly.

"I doubt it. That damage is done." He told me. My face fell. I was going to be stuck in this thirteen year-old body for the rest of my life! "But… You could do whatever you wanted. You wouldn't have to be scared anymore." He told me.

"What crystal does that?" Piper asked.

"No crystal that _you_ need to know of." Ace sneered at her.

"You're not taking her." Aerrow told Ace."

"She _wants _to come." Ace argued.

"She's not eighteen yet. She still has to have someone watch over her."

"Someone eighteen or older. You're only fourteen."

"Excuse me." I said quietly.

"I can still watch her! I'm a sky knight."

"I'm twenty-three. I can _legally_ watch over her until she turns eighteen."

"Excuse me!" I yelled. They still ignored me.

"The sky knight council would beg to differ."

"A _neutral_ council would let me watch over her. Your sky knight council is on _your_ side whether you're right or not."

I put my fingers in my mouth and whistled as loud as I could, which was very loud considering my size. "Hey!" I yelled. Both of them looked at me. "Isn't this kind of _my choice?"_ I demanded.

"No." Aerrow said. I glared at him.

"Yes, it is." Ace said, smirking at Aerrow. He looked at me and asked, "So what will it be?"

********

Me: Done! No stars. I could totally write a soap opera!

Master Cyclonis: When do _I_ get to be in the story?

Me: Next chapter.

Master Cyclonis: Oh. Yay!

Me: Where did everyone else go?

Master Cyclonis: Your kitchen. They were hungry.

Me: *quickly* This took nineteen notebook pages and eight computer pages! Please review! Bye! OUT OF MY CABINETS!

Master Cyclonis: What happened to the peace treaty?

**End chapter**

Word count: 2695


	5. To the Rescue!

**Chapter 4- **To the Rescue

Me: I'm really moving this along!

Piper: It's because you don't do anything in school.

Me: I do too! I talk.

Piper: How do you talk and write at the same time?

Me: I can write without looking!

Piper: You're _so_ talented.

Me: Thank you! Have you ever noticed that my ANs are like short stories?

Piper: Yes. It looks like you're writing a freaking novel when you write them.

Me: Maybe I will join them together and make a novel! 'The Great Collection of Arguments Between Me and the People of Atmos.'

Piper: It would be a best seller.

Me: I know! Wouldn't it? I'd make millions!

Piper: Anyway, Number1stormhawksfan does not own Storm Hawks, but she does own Alexis, Will? Would you own Will? He's really the Dark Ace…

Me: I _do_ own the _idea_ of Will, not the Dark Ace! Terra Perfection, the Perfectionists, and my idea!

********

"What will it be?" Ace asked me. _Okay. Bad idea. Too much pressure!_

"Uh, I, I… I think I wanna go with Ace." I decided.

"You said you _think!_ You still need time to think! This is a big decision. Come with us to the Condor for now." Piper offered. Ace took my shoulder and pulled me toward him.

"She said that she wants to come with me." He said. This angered Aerrow.

"Get your hands off of her." He said through clenched teeth. **(It's a brotherly love. Lol)**

"Aerrow, let it go. Let _me_ go." I pleaded.

"I can't let you make the worst mistake of your life!"

"Aerrow, I'm not making a mistake. Trust me. I know that I'll be safe as long as I'm with Ace." I said.

"You don't know who you're talking about. Your so-called protector has killed more sky knights than anyone and more people than you can imagine!" Finn told me.

"Whatever! He wouldn't do that! Why are you guys accusing _him_ of lying when you're the only ones doing it?" I demanded, angry.

"You don't understand, Alexis. We're not lying. Why don't _you_ tell her the truth." Junko challenged Ace.

"Enough! Come on, Ace. Let's go." I said. The team looked like they wanted to keep talking, but I glared at them. Ace led me away toward a skimmer. I was starting to rethink this. Wasn't there at least an air ship or something? I didn't like those skimmer things. I stopped. The Storm Hawks watched me, hopeful.

"Alexis?" Ace asked. I looked at him and then back to the skimmer. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"Isn't there a cruiser or… Something?" I asked, keeping my voice steady. It was getting hard to breathe again.

"The cruiser is on a close terra, but we have to ride the skimmer to get to it." Ace told me. I kept watching the skimmer, fearful. I hadn't realized that I was scared of them. "Alexis? Are you scared?" Ace asked. _Obviously._ "What happened when you were driving that skimmer?"

"I crashed." I told him. He looked surprised.

"How did you walk away?" He asked.

"I flew."

"With your wings?"

"Yeah. Speaking of wings, where are yours?"

"I cut them off." I felt my mouth drop open. Did I have to cut my wings off? I adored my wings, and he knew that!

"What?" I choked out. "You, you… Cut… Your wings? Doesn't that… _Hurt_?"

"You don't have to!" Ace quickly assured me. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to." He hadn't answered my questions about it hurting, but I dropped it. "So… You're scared of crashing on the skimmer?" Ace asked, changing the subject.

"Apparently." I said.

"You just have to trust me. I promise we won't crash."

"It would seem to me that she doesn't want to go anymore." Aerrow said.

"Keep in mind that I don't want to go with you either." I told him, completely wiping his smile off of his face.

"Alexis. I promise. We won't crash. Just ride for a little bit." Ace begged.

"Fine. I'll try." I finally told him. The Storm Hawks looked devastated.

"Aw, man!" Finn exclaimed.

"Let's go." Ace told me, leading me away by the arm.

"Alexis…" Piper began, but I stopped her.

"Guys, stop! I'm not gonna change my mind!" I snapped, still be led away. Ace climbed on his skimmer and pulled me on in front of him. To my annoyance, I was shaking. I tried to stop, but I couldn't. The skimmer lurched and I jumped and gasped.

"It's okay Alexis. Take a deep breath. Close your eyes if you need to." Ace told me. I took a deep breath, but kept my eyes open. Ace tried to leave again, driving with one hand and holding me with the other.

"Ace. Drive with both hands." I told him, once we got into the air.

"You don't want me to…?"

"Drive with both hands. Please." I begged. Ace let go of me and put his hand on the handlebar. I gaped and he took his hand off the handlebar. "Put it back on!" I exclaimed with another gasp.

"Alexis, are you…?" Ace began.

"Put it back on." I begged. Ace did as I pleaded.

"Are you okay?" He asked. I nodded, focusing on my breaths. "We're here." He told me, landing the skimmer. We were on a deserted terra. Well, deserted except for the huge Cyclonian cruiser.

Ace got off the skimmer and I followed him. Talons began working to load his skimmer onto the ship. "Do you want to sit down? It'll be a little bit before we leave." Ace told me. I nodded and he led me to a rock. I sat and he sat beside me. I was still focusing on breathing. "How have you been?" He asked.

"I've only been away from you for a day." I told him, smiling at his ill attempt to make small talk.

"Still." He said.

"I've been good. I totally freaked out on Aerrow when I first met him though." I said. Ace chuckled.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I saw the red hair and I thought he was a bad person." I said, giggling. I could feel a blush sneaking up my face.

"I wish I could've been there to see that." He said.

"No! It was embarrassing!" I exclaimed. Ace smiled. A talon approached us. I pressed closer to Ace and watched the talon warily. Ace shot the talon a death glare.

"Sir, the ship is ready to leave." The talon said. Ace nodded and the talon darted off.

"Ready to go?" He asked, standing. I nodded and stood. I followed him to the ship. We got on and I looked around curiously. The only air ship I'd ever been on was the Condor, and this ship was _much_ bigger.

Ace led me to a sitting area. It was labeled "The Lounge." It sounded so ominous. The ship lurched as it took off and I nearly fell. Ace laughed and steadied me. "Maybe I should've warned you. I forget that you've never been on an airship." He said.

"I've been on an airship." I said, confused. He froze.

"What airship?" He asked.

"The Condor. Remember?" I asked.

"Yes. That doesn't count." He told me. I smiled.

"Let me guess. Yours are better." I said.

"I was going to say that our ships are more jerky, but better works." Ace said with a smile. I smiled back.

"Wow. I probably look very dirty." I said, sitting in one of the chairs.

"You could turn completely black if you turn yourself over oto me. Then, you wouldn't look dirty." Ace offered.

"Nah. I'll stay a Perfectionist." I said. He frowned, but quickly regained a calming smile. I smiled back. Then, I looked down at my pale, white arms and my smile faded. They didn't sparkle. Now they just looked dead. I looked dead. Now I'd never be able to be good again unless this Master Cyclonis person turned me back, and from the way some of these talons talked and acted, I didn't think she was going to let me go so easily.

********

The Storm Hawks had reacted immediately when the Dark Ace had convinced Alexis to go with him. They had dashed back to the ship and immediately began planning.

"If we can just take her out of Cyclonia, or at least get her away from the Dark Ace, we can explain things to her without him mixing up our words." Aerrow said.

"Dude, how are we even going to get into Cyclonia?" Finn asked.

"I don't know. We've done it before." Aerrow said, shrugging.

"Say we _do_ get into Cyclonia without meeting our painful demise. If she's with the Dark Ace and is mad at us, how do you expect to get her away from him without him killing you?" Stork demanded.

"I don't' know, okay? Piper, do you think you can work out a plan?" Aerrow asked. Piper didn't answer. She was already deep in thought.

"Why are we taking her away? I mean, she's happy, she'll keep the Dark Ace from attacking for a little while…" Junko offered.

"I'm not really that worried about the Dark Ace bothering her, except that he's planting lies in her head. It's more the fact that she's a Perfectionist and Master Cyclonis will want to perform tests and experiments to get her information." Aerrow explained.

"If the Dark Ace likes her, who knew he could like anybody, then why would he let Master Cyclonis even lay a hand on her?" Finn asked.

"That's another problem. We don't know if the Dark Ace really likes her or if he's just pretending. Also, Master Cyclonis has more authority than the Dark Ace. He can't refuse her, and even though it's Alexis' body, she won't listen to her either." Aerrow explained.

"Guys. I have an idea." Piper announced.

********

"The ship is about to land. Do you have everything." Ace asked.

"I didn't have anything in the first place." I told him.

"Right. I'm sure we can find you some clothes. We might have to go buy them unless you want to wear Master Cyclonis' dresses." Ace told me.

"I don't have any money." I told him.

"That's okay. I'll pay. Come on. It's time for you to meet Master Cyclonis."

********

Me: That was a short chapter. Sorry everybody!

Finn: Alexis is scared of skimmers?

Me: Yeah. What about it.

Finn: How could someone be scared of skimmers?

Me: If they crashed…

Finn: How?

Me: One time I watched this show on this freak bus accident and I was scared of vehicles for the next two years.

Finn: You're scared of everything.

Me: Shut up! Am not! Well, I wasn't really scared. Just nervous. I mean, it's not like I wouldn't ride in cars or anything.

Finn: Riiight.

Me: What are you doing here anyway? It's Master Cyclonis' turn.

Finn: She was late, I was here…

Master Cyclonis: Sorry I'm late. I… Did you replace me?

Me: No. He just won't leave.

Master Cyclonis: Oh, I'll get rid of him…

Me: No fighting! This took fifteen notebook pages and six computer pages!

Finn: Rev… *Master Cyclonis pushes him aside.*

Master Cyclonis: No! Please review!

**End chapter**

Word count: 1883


	6. Friends and Foes

**Chapter 5- **Friends and Foes

Me: Yeah! Chapter five! Finn, you're lucky I didn't skip you.

Finn: Why didn't you?

Me: It'd mess up the flow.

Finn: Whatever.

Me: Do the disclaimer. I'm making your time short because you've been here so much.

Finn: Number1stormhawks fan does not own Storm Hawks, but she does own Alexis, the idea of Will, Terra Perfection, the Perfectionists, and her idea.

********

Ace led me through the dark halls of Cyclonia. The white that was still showing on me stood out. I'd hesitated about entering Cyclonia, but I had nowhere else to go. Anyway, Ace would protect me, I hoped.

We stopped outside some huge doors. "You're going in with me, right?" I asked.

Ace smiled and said, "I'm coming with you, but remember, be respectful, and speak only when you're spoken to." We both entered. It was even darker in this room. I could hardly see. I could see a girl standing with her back to us. This must be Master Cyclonis.

"Where did you find this Perfectionist, Dark Ace? On Terra Blizzaris?" Master Cyclonis asked.

"This is Alexis, the girl that I helped get off of Terra Perfection." Ace explained. Master Cyclonis turned to face us. I almost stepped back, but I held my ground beside Ace.

"I surely hope you don't wish for her to be recruited?" She asked.

"No, but she may be able to provide us with valuable information." Ace suggested. Master Cyclonis approached me. Again, I wanted to move away, but I didn't.

"Are you a young Perfectionist?" She asked. I looked up at Ace and he nodded.

"No." I told her.

"How old are you?" She asked.

"Seventeen." I said. She looked slightly, of course.

"Well, you may have some use to us. Ace, take her to the dungeon…" I widened my eyes.

"Actually, Master Cyclonis, I was hoping she could stay as a guest? She came willingly." Ace said. Master Cyclonis narrowed her eyes suspiciously. She shrugged.

"Very well, but she's your problem." She told Ace. _Problem? I'm not a problem!_ "I'll come to retrieve her when I'm ready to ask some questions." She added. Ace put his hand on his chest, bowed, and led me out.

"What kind of questions is she gonna ask me?" I asked Ace once we were away from the throne room.

"Just about our home."

"Why didn't she ask you?"

"She did. She wants to see if you know more."

"How would I know more? You're older than me."

"You've been on Terra Perfection longer as a true Perfectionist than me."

"Does she know that I don't think like other Perfectionists?"

"She doesn't know."

"Do I tell her?"

"Tell her what you think she needs to know."

"Thanks. I'm just nervous, I guess."

"Don't be. She won't hurt you." _Yet._

********

"Everybody know the plan?" Piper asked. Everyone nodded. "Maybe we should go over it one more time…"

"We're good, Piper! Anyway, we're running out of time!" Finn exclaimed.

"Finn's right…" Aerrow began.

"For once." Piper muttered. Aerrow began again.

"Finn's right. We may not have much time before Alexis is introduced to Master Cyclonis, if she hasn't been already."

"Right. Stork, head to Cyclonia through the wastelands. Make sure you watch out for the new Cyclonians wasteland patrols. After our last trip through the wastelands, they caught on about how we were getting into Cyclonia." Piper explained.

Stork set off toward the wastelands, grumbling about their doom awaiting them.

"Piper, you watch the scanner for any approaching skimmers. Finn and Junko, stay at you firing stations. I'll keep watch for the wasteland patrols. Radarr, you just keep watch through the windows." Aerrow said, making sure to include Radarr. It always made him mad when they forgot to give him a job.

"Approaching Cyclonian territory!" Stork announced. Piper kept a close eye on the scanner and Aerrow kept watch through the scopes.

"Aerrow! Starboard!" Finn suddenly exclaimed. Aerrow looked to see a wasteland patroller who hadn't noticed them yet.

"Finn, shoot some rocks to get him to leave!" Aerrow commanded.

"Aerrow, I don't think he's gonna miss us…" Piper began.

"We have to try. Go Finn!" Aerrow commanded. Finn shot some distant rocks and the patroller turned to investigate the noise. "Hurry Stork." Aerrow said.

As they were flying past where the patroller had been, Finn exclaimed, "He sees us!" The patroller had been alerted by the noise of the ship that the tumbling rocks were a distraction.

"Okay guys. Let's face this guy head on before he can radio in to Master Cyclonis. Turn around." Aerrow commanded. Stork turned the Condor in a U-turn. The patroller had pulled out his radio when Junko fired at him.

"I know what to do guys!" Piper exclaimed.

********

Ace led me to a fairly large cafeteria. I recognized two of the commanders at the table. There was the lady with the pink hair that Finn had battled. Next to her was the big, strong dude that Junko had fought.

I followed Ace through the cafeteria to the food line, which he stepped directly in front of. He handed me a tray and said, "Get whatever you want." I simply nodded. They had what looked like roast. Ace put a slice on his tray. He didn't offer me any. He knew me so well. Knowing that he was an old friend who would protect me reassured me. He stopped with me at the salad bar.

"You remember so well." I said.

"It's only been a couple of days." Ace told me as we began walking toward the commanders table.

"Most boys would forget after a couple of adys, but mot you. How sweet of you." I said, smiling. He hated being called sweet. We sat at the table.

"Call me that one more time and I'm leaving you back on Terra Perfection." Ace said, regaining his tough, alpha composure. I took a bite of my salad. I could feel the other two commanders' eyes on me. I glanced at Ace and, seeing that he wasn't gonna introduce me, took it upon myself.

"Hello. My name is Alexis." I said, extending my hand to the woman and smiling. The woman didn't shake my hand or smile back. I pulled my hand back, keeping my smile on my face. Ace was watching me and I smiled up at him. He looked away, satisfied that I wasn't sad. My emotions ruled me and usually the others around me. I finished my salad and left with Ace.

He took me to an empty room. "This is where you'll be staying. I'm right across the hall." Ace told me.

"What was with those two commanders at dinner?" I asked.

"Ravess and Snipe? They don't really like anyone, not even each other and they're siblings. They'll get used to you… Eventually." Ace told me.

"Eventually?" I asked.

"Snipe only talks to me strictly on work matters. Ravess just loves to annoy everyone, especially me."

"She doesn't seem that annoying." I said.

"She is, even if she doesn't know it." Ace told me. I smiled and laughed softly. "You should get some rest. I'll wake you up tomorrow when I'm finished with some business matters. Good night." Ace said, leaving. I didn't have any night clothes, so I covered up in my day clothes. Not too long later, I fell asleep, exhausted.

********

Finn stood at Junko's station with his crossbow. He had to be quick and accurate. It took him about thirty seconds to be sure of his aim. He pulled the trigger. The arrow made its way toward the talon. _Don't move, don't move._ The arrow hit its target, the talon's radio.

"Good shot Finn. Hopefully he didn't have enough time to radio Master Cyclonis. Stork, bring us down. We have to catch him before he gets away. There must be some kind of a Cyclonian base down here." Aerrow said. Stork landed the ship, and Piper was able to knock out the talon with a quick hit to his head with her staff.

"Guys, we should find the base. If we find the base, we can knock out the radio signals down here." Piper said.

"Wouldn't Master Cyclonis notice if she lost contact with the wasteland patrol?" Finn asked.

"It's the wastelands. There're tons of things down here that could knock out a radio signal." Piper pointed out.

"But… Wouldn't that leave us without a radio signal?" Finn asked.

"Finn! Don't you know anything?" Piper exclaimed.

"Um, we don't rely on Cyclonian radio signals. We have our own." Stork explained. Then, he added, "So, you're wanting to walk… On foot… Through the wastelands? Count me out."

"Stork, we'll be using our skimmers. You can take the Storm-Mobile." Aerrow offered.

"Again, through the wastelands. Count me out. I'll just protect the ship… where it's safe." He said the last part quieter.

"Whatever you want, Stork. Let's go guys." Aerrow said, leading the team back to the Condor. They had to get their skimmers, and he wanted to check the time. His goal was to be inside the Cyclonian palace by dawn.

"Um, do we need to pack anything?" Junko asked.

"Well, we shouldn't be gone too long, but maybe just to be on the safe side… What do you think Aerrow?" Piper asked.

"I think we should just go. Supplies will slow us down, and if we did happen to get captured by Cyclonians, which we won't, they'd take away the supplies anyway." Aerrow told the team.

"Yeah. You're probably right. Let's hurry guys." Piper said. Aerrow left to wake up Radarr, who had fallen asleep on duty. How the little guy could sleep through everything, he'd never know. Radarr was quick to climb onto Aerrow's skimmer, happy to be of help again.

"Ready guys? We have to go fast. I want to be in the Cyclonian palace by dawn." Aerrow told everyone.

"Um… Have you checked the time?" Junko asked.

"Dude, we're never gonna make it by dawn." Finn said.

Aerrow sighed and said, "I never said we would. It was just a goal guys. Come on!"

"Any chance we'll be leaving soon?" Piper asked. _Boys._ She thought, rolling her eyes and sighing. They drove off.

"Radarr, we're looking for a Cyclonian base down here so that we can cut their radio signals. We'll be able to get to the Cyclonian palace faster that way. Keep an eye out for any buildings, skimmers, ships, people, or magma worms. That goes for everyone." Aerrow commanded.

They'd been driving and searching for a while when Finn yelled, "Magma worm!" Everyone pulled out their weapons, ready to take on the approaching magma worm when a man used a crystal to freeze and destroy the magma worm instantly. The Storm Hawks kept their weapons drawn.

The man raised his arms and called, "I come in peace!" The Storm Hawks slowly lowered their weapons. The man approached their skimmers He looked to be about nineteen.

"Who are you?" Aerrow asked.

"My name is Roberto." The man answered simply.

"What are you doing down here in the wastelands? Did the Cyclonians shoot you down?" Piper asked.

"No. This is where I live." Roberto told them.

_Finn was right. There's no way that we'll be getting to the Cyclonian palace by dawn._ Aerrow thought.

********

I woke up around five-thirty in the morning. I wasn't alone. I sat up. Someone was watching me. "Ace?" I asked quietly, my voice quivering. There was no reply. _Maybe it's just my imagination. _I thought, lying back down. I closed my eyes. Then, I heard a soft thud and a quiet breath. I sat up quickly. Someone was here. I stood. "Hello?" I asked softly. Suddenly, someone grabbed me and covered my mouth. "Ace!" I tried yelling against the hand.

"Listen. I'll let you go if you promise not to make a sound or run away." It was a man. I tried to land a kick on his shin, but all I hit was a metal guard. Maybe if I could reach the door or one of the walls, I could make some noise and someone would come and tell me to be quiet. I kicked blindly and hit the door. The man pulled me back until I couldn't reach anything. Then, I thought I heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

I yelled, "Help!" against the man's hand, but I wasn't loud enough.

The man waited until the footsteps were gone, then he told me, "Calm down. I just want to take you to meet someone. They're going to talk to you, and if you don't like what we're telling you about, I'll bring you back and never bother you again." The man promised. I didn't wanna go with him, but what choice did I have? I nodded in agreement.

********

The Storm Hawks were back at Roberto's home. "Fernando has disguised himself as a talon in Cyclonia. Vendetta and Alejandro are getting supplies." Roberto told the Storm Hawks.

"Why is Fernando undercover in Cyclonia? Are they up to something?" Aerrow asked.

Roberto glanced around and then said quietly, "You didn't get this form me, but I heard that the Dark Ace took a little Perfectionist girl into Cyclonia, so I sent Fernando to get her out."

"Alexis! Does he have her?" Aerrow asked.

"I don't know. He hasn't made a report yet." Roberto explained.

"Good luck. We tried to get her away from the Dark Ace and she chewed us out." Finn said, rolling his eyes.

"You guys know her? How?" Roberto asked, suspicious.

"She ran away from Terra Perfection and we found her and took her in. Then, we got a call for help from the Blizzarians. We went to help them and the Dark Ace discovered Alexis. Turns out, they knew each other. We tried to tell her that he was bad news, but she thought we were lying. She pretty much hates us now." Aerrow explained.

"How does the Dark Ace know her?" Roberto asked.

"He was her boyfriend or something back on Perfection." Finn answered.

"Finn, I don't think the Dark Ace was her boyfriend. He's five or six years older than her.*" Piper said. The door to the house opened and someone entered.

A girl called, "Amici!**" Roberto relaxed.

"It's just Vendetta and Alejandro." Roberto reassured the Storm Hawks. "What did you guys get?" Roberto asked the two people who entered the room.

The girl, Vendetta, had long, dark brown hair and dark eyes. She had tan skin and wasn't smiling.

The man, Alejandro, had jet black hair and light blue eyes with pale skin. The combination made him look chilling.

"We got some meat that we can roast outside over the lava. We also got some fruits, vegetables, and water." Vendetta told Roberto.

"Has Fernando returned yet?' Alejandro asked.

"No. He hasn't even made a report yet." Roberto told him.

Vendetta looked at the Storm Hawks and asked, "Who are these kids?"

"We're not kids." Finn said.

"These are the Storm Hawks. They know the Perfectionist." Roberto explained.

"The Storm Hawks." Alejandro thought about the name. "I've heard of you…"

"Chicka-cha." Finn said.

"You're those kids who protect the Atmos and took the old Storm Hawks' place. Your sky knight…" Alejandro paused, thinking and snapping his finger.

"Aerrow." Vendetta stepped in. "Aerrow was the only person in history to ever beat the Dark Ace. Nice job, by the way." Vendetta smiled slightly at Aerrow.

"Is this true? You've beaten the Dark Ace?" Roberto asked Aerrow.

"You bet he did!" Finn exclaimed.

"This may come in handy. You just might be able to keep him or any other talon from coming back for the Perfectionist." Roberto said.

"Once we get her." Vendetta inputted.

"Why do you care so much about Alexis?" Junko asked.

"Perfectionists have an insane amount of power." Alejandro said.

"So why doesn't Master Cyclonis just use the Dark Ace?" Piper asked.

"She's already used his power. Now it needs to restore itself. With both Alexis and the Dark Ace, Master Cyclonis will have unlimited sources of Perfect power. She'll also have the information on how to get more Perfectionists. She might even be able to find Terra Perfection." Vendetta explained.

"That's insane. Alexis wouldn't deceive her terra like that. Even the Dark Ace didn't give away its location." Piper said.

"What if she thought she was helping them?" Vendetta pointed out.

"Master Cyclonis _could _twist her story to make her sound good and _us_ evil." Piper said.

Roberto's radio crackled and a man said, "I've got the little Perfectionist…"

"Stop calling me little, I'm seventeen." Alexis protested in the background.

"I have the Perfectionist. We're getting ready to come back now."

"Good Fernando…" Roberto began when a siren went off in the background.

"We've been caught!" Fernando exclaimed.

********

Me: Stars!

*- In this story, the Dark Ace is twenty-three years-old.

**- Amici means friends in Italian.

Ravess: Yay! I get to talk on your story!

Me: Well, I guess that's about it…

Ravess: I don't think so!

Me: Kidding! I was just kidding!

Ravess: That's good news for you, Shorty.

Me: Hey! That wasn't very nice! Anyways, I'm younger than you. *sticks out tongue*

Ravess: You know, putting wasteland patrols isn't a bad idea. We should try it.

Me: Oh no! don't you be going and making me responsible for Cyclonia winning! Oh yeah, Vendetta partially belongs to Number2stormhawksfan. Partially because we both came up with the idea for Vendetta together. Alejandro, Roberto, and Fernando all belong to ME!

Ravess: FYI, "vendetta" is "revenge" in Italian or "vengeance" in Italian slang.

Me: thank you human history book. This took twenty-two notebook pages and nine computer pages.

Ravess: Please review! You can also request you own OC! Just give Number1stormhawksfan and info about him/her in a review or PM! You will get credit!

Word count: 2990


	7. The Funn and Romantic Chapter

**Chapter 6****- **The Funn and Romantic Chapter

Me: Sorry it took me so long to update! Spring break was insane! Ahh! I have _got_ to update my other story. Sorry for everyone who's reading that story! I'll get right to work on it! Promise! You know why you're lucky, Junko?

Junko: *suspiciously* Why?

Me: You get to talk on the fun chapter!

Junko: *again, suspiciously* What do you mean?

Me: I'm gonna make this chapter funn! Like, a lot of jokes and stuff, even though I'm not funny.

Junko: Oh. Cool!

Me: Yeah. It is.

Junko: Number1stormhawksfan does not own Storm Hawks, but she does own the Alexis, the idea of Will, Alejandro, Roberto, Fernando, Terra Perfection, the Perfectionists, and her idea. She shares the ownership of Vendetta with Numner2stormhawksfan because they created her together.

Me: The list just keeps getting longer! Hope you like this chapter! It's pure crack!

********

The radio signal went dead. Roberto looked worried, but quickly regained his composure. He glanced over to the Storm Hawks and, seeing that they looked concerned, said, "Don't worry. She'll be okay as long as she stays with Fernando."

"I hope you're right." Aerrow said.

********

I started as the siren went off. Fernando quickly stashed his radio and pulled out his energy blade. Ace was the first one uin my room, fully in uniform and armed with his energy blade. Fernando pushed me behind him. More talons soon filled the room. "You're outnumbered. You might as well surrender." Ace told Fernando.

"I can take you." Fernando said. I could hardly resist rolling my eyes. Another person who thought he was _so_ great.

"Very well then. Talons, attack! I want him locked away in the dungeons." Ace commanded. He was about to come get me when he realized that Fernando was defeating the talons without difficulty. _Worthless idiots! _He thought angrily. He exited the room and soon entered again, leading more talons.

Someone touched my arm and again, I started. I turned. It was… Ravess? "Come on. Let's get out of here." She told me. _I bet Ace told her to help me so that he can continue leading the talons._ I followed Ravess. She took me across the hall to another room. "Just wait here and don't leave with anybody." She told me. I nodded and she left. I looked around the room. Right across the hall… This was _Ace's_ room. It was… Big. The walls were still metal, but they weren't the rusty colour that the other rooms were. These were a cleaner dark red. Also, the Cyclonian insignia was cleaner and stood out more. Outside, the fighting had stopped. The door opened and I stood stiffly, awaiting to see who had won.

********

"It's been a while Roberto. Do you think we should go help?" Junko asked.

"No. He's fine." Roberto said.

"Alexis is fine too. I bet Fernando's just taking his time. He always does." Vendetta said.

"We don't have time! What if the Dark Ace has Alexis right as we speak? What if Master Cyclonis thinks that Alexis planned this and she was trying to escape?" Aerrow demanded.

"Aerrow, I'm sure she's okay." piper said.

"Fernando may be reckless sometimes, but he's usually careful. If your little friend got hurt, he'd radio in for back-up. He won't let anything happen to her Aerrow." Alejandro said.

Aerrow sighed in frustration. Why could they not see what he was trying to say? If Fernando was captured, he wouldn't be able to radio in!

"Umm… Roberto? Can I talk to you alone?" Vendetta asked. Roberto nodded and they left the room. Everyone waited anxiously for them to return.

"Roberto entered and said, "A rescue mission may be in order. We've lost contact with Fernando."

********

Ace entered the room and relief flooded my body. Ace sat on his bed and he said, "Come here Alexis. I want to ask you something and I want you to answer honestly."

"Okay." I said, sitting next to Ace. The seriousness in his voice was worrying me.

"Were you trying to run away?" Ace asked.

"N, no!" I exclaimed.

"Don't you like it here? Is it because I haven't had time to be with you?" Ace asked.

"No! Ace… I do like it here. Well…" I hesitated.

"Well?" Ace asked.

"I like being with you." I told him.

"So… What happened?" Ace asked.

"Fernando, that man…"

"Did you know him?" Ace interrupted.

"No. He just told me his name."

"Oh. Okay. Continue."

"He was in my room and covered my mouth. I kicked the door, but apparently Cyclonians sleep like the dead. He said someone needed to talk to me."

"Did he tell you where he lived?"

"No. He just said that he'd take me there and bring me back if I didn't like what they were telling me."

Ace sighed and stood up. "I'm gonna go tell Master Cyclonis. In the future, if this happens again, don't believe anyone who says they'll bring you back. You might want to get some more rest. I'll be back in a little bit." He left. _Alone again. _I sighed. _I'm not even tired._

********

"Okay guys, we're gonna continue our rescue plan, but we'll just add Vendetta, Alejandro, and Roberto. Vendetta, Aerrow, and Radarr will search as a group. Roberto and I will search as a group. Finn, Junko, and Alejandro will search as a group." Piper explained.

"Will we just drive our skimmers?" Roberto asked.

"Yeah. We never got the chance to shut down the Cyclonian radio signal so our skimmers will be more stealth." Aerrow said.

"Like a ninja." Finn added.

"Yeah. We gotta act like ninjas." Junko said. Radarr squawked.

"Let's do it guys." Vendetta said.

********

Ace re-entered the room. I was sitting against the wall, being bored out of my mind. "Why didn't you go back to sleep?" Ace asked.

"I wasn't tired." I told him.

"Well, I hope you're still not tired because I have a surprise for you." He told me.

"What?" I asked.

"I have a surprise for you." Ace repeated.

"Okay. What is it?" I asked.

"I took the day off so that I could spend it with you." Ace told me.

I sighed and said, "Ace! Is this because you thought I tried to run away cuz I didn't!"

"No. I just want to show you that Cyclonia _can_ be fun." Ace told me.

"Whatever you want." I replied.

"No. Whatever _you_ want." Ace told me. He seemed excited about it so I just went along.

"Ummm… Breakfast?" Okay, I _kind of_ went along.

"Uh, sure. I guess we do have to eat sometimes." Ace said. We walked out of the room. We didn't talk. I guess there was nothing to talk about.

"So……. Uhhh……. That wall." I said.

"What about it?" Ace asked.

"Is it painted brighter than the rest of the walls?" I asked.

"You're ridiculous." Ace told me.

"Someone's gotta talk." I said. We walked silently a little farther. "Well?"

"Well what?" Ace asked.

"Was that wall brighter?" I repeated.

"Okay. No, it wasn't. You obviously wanna talk, so what do you wanna talk about?" Ace asked.

"What do you think I wanna talk about? I wanna talk about that wall!" I exclaimed. We approached the cafeteria.

"Let's set a ground rule. During breakfast. No talking about walls." Ace told me.

"Okay. How about doors?" I asked.

"No!" Ace yelled. I sighed dramatically.

"Whatever!" I called, following him into the cafeteria. I was silent as we sat down at the commanders table.

"I didn't say you couldn't talk." He told me.

"There's nothing to talk about _now._" I told him, rolling my eyes and then smiling at him. He smiled back. Ravess and Snipe sat down. They eyed me for a couple of seconds and then began eating. Ace and I were the only ones talking, but Ravess and Snipe were listening. I could tell. "So what happened to Master Cyclonis questioning me?" I asked.

"I asked her if we could wait until tomorrow and she agreed." He told me.

"Okay." I said. We ate the rest of breakfast in silence. _Awkward. _

"Let's go." Ace told me once we had both finished eating. "So, what do you wanna do?" He asked me.

"I don't know!" I exclaimed.

"We could go somewhere." Ace suggested.

"Really? Well, I don't know very many of the terras… I thought you were gonna show me how _Cyclonia _could be fun."

"Okay. I'm gonna show you that _Cyclonians_ can be fun. _I_ can be fun." Ace told me.

I giggled and said, "Okay. You better get to showing me then."

"First, I need to think of a place that you would like." Ace told me.

"What should we do while you're deciding where we should go?" I asked.

"I don't know. What do you want to do?" Ace asked me. _Again? Come on, guy! Get your own ideas!_

"We could dance!" I moon walked. "It's what I do best." I burst out laughing.

"I don't think so." Ace told me, chuckling.

"We could sing." I told him.

"Okay, we're not doing what you want anymore. You've lost the privilege." Ace joked.

"Fine. Be that way. What do _you_ wanna do?" I asked.

"Read. We can read some Atmosian history books." Ace said.

"No! Learning! I exclaimed, laughing. "We can play air instruments and be rock stars." I suggested.

"I know where to take you." Ace told me. He led me to his skimmer and I paused. "Come on Alexis. It'll be alright. I promise. Have I led you wrong yet?" Ace asked.

I smiled and said, "I guess not. Okay. Where are we going?" We walked to the skimmer together.

"It's a surprise." He told me. He got on. I got on behind him and held on tight. "Ready?" He asked.

"Yeah." I told him. He took off. I actually wasn't scared. "You must've proven yourself to be a good driver." I told him, giggling.

"I'm honored. Allow me to prove myself further." He told me. Suddenly, he did a flip and nose-dived toward the wastelands. I screamed.

"Ace!" I yelled.

"Just hold on tight. I've done this before.' He reassured me. I tightened my already tight grip to a death grip. Ace chuckled. He continued flipping through the wastelands. Finally, he pulled up and we flew up into the bright blue sky. I found myself laughing.

"That was actually fun!" I exclaimed.

"I thought you might like that. Your lungs didn't act up either." Ace pointed out.

"You do a very good job at keeping me calm." I told him. I saw what looked like a huge amusement park that covered an entire terra. "Whoa. Is that where we're going?" I asked.

"Yeah. You've never gotten to go to an amusement park, so I thought I'd take you to one." Ace told me. I smiled with excitement. "Lucky us. It's not very crowded today." Ace said. He ;landed the skimmer and we walked to the front gates. Ace handed the terrified man the money. "Two tickets." He told him. The man gave me two tickets and Ace led me to an entrance gate. We gave an associate our tickets and Ace led me inside. It was amazing! There were so many colours and flashing lights! I'd never seen anything like it!

"Wow." I said. Ace chuckled. "It's so colorful and flashy. I've never seen anything like it!" I exclaimed.

"Just wait until you ride some rides." Ace told me. He put his arm around me.

"People are staring." I told him.

"Just ignore them." He told me. I smiled as we walked up to a really tall wheel type thing. "This is a ferris wheel." He told me. Again, very colorful! There was a fairly short line. "You're gonna love the view from the top." He told me. It was our turn. We had a cart all to ourselves. The ferris wheel was slow and kind of peaceful. Then, we were stopped at the top.

"Oh. Wow." I said. The view was amazing. I could hardly put it into words. I could see many terras and some mountains in the distance. There was a lot of fog just below the surface of the terras. Terra Perfection wasn't even in sight. It was amazing to be so far away from that prison. It was so great to be with Ace.

"What's going through your head?" Ace asked as the ferris wheel began moving again.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Your eyes almost tell a whole story. I just want to know what you're really thinking." He told me.

"Well, I was just thinking about how beautiful the scenery was." I told him.

"And? Come on, I know there was more going through your head." Ace said.

"And I was thinking about how great it is to be so far away from terra Perfection… How great it is to be with you." I said. We were stopped at the top again. I looked at the scenery again, and the most wonderful thing happened. Ace leaned in and kissed me. Right on the lips. In front of the beautiful scenery. So far away from Perfection. It was the most perfect part of my life. It was… Absolutely perfect. Nothing could ruin the moment… Except for the ferris wheel moving again.

"I' I'm sorry." Ace told me.

"It's perfectly okay." I said. We both laughed.

"If it's perfectly okay; then I believe I'll take another." He said, kissing me again. The ferris wheel stopped and we got off. "Let's go ride the roller coaster now." Ace told me. The roller coaster was a huge track that went around the entire terra with a cart on it that traveled fast on the tracks. It looked insane. The line was longer.

"Is this thing safe?" I asked.

"As safe as you are with me." Ace told me.

"I feel so safe." I said, sarcastically. "Kidding!" I added.

"Yeah. You better be." Ace told me, pushing me slightly. I watched the roller coaster, getting slightly nervous. It was our turn. We got into a cart towards the middle and Ace pulled the bar down over us.

"It isn't very tight." I said.

"Don't worry. You're perfectly safe." Ace told me, chuckling.

"First time rider?" Someone behind us asked.

"Uhhh… Yeah." I said. _Is it that easy to tell?_ The cart lurched and we started up a hill.

"Are you gonna put your hands up?" Ace asked.

"Are you kidding? No, I'm not putting my hands up. I choose life. Are you?" I asked.

"Yeah." Ace told me.

"I will scream. Just for you." I joked. We were at the top. The cart dipped a little and then curved to the left. Then, it plunged almost straight down. I screamed. Ace had his hands up. We corkscrewed to the left, and then to the right.

"Put your hands up!" Ace yelled.

"No!" I yelled back. It was muffled because I was laughing so hard. We went through a loop and Ace pulled my hands off the bar. I screamed. He held my left hand to keep it up. Soon, I found myself laughing. The ride ended too soon.

"Did you like that?" Ace asked.

"That was awesome. I'm dizzy." I said. I was still laughing. "Ah, what a rush!" I joked. Ace laughed.

"Now what do you Want to ride?" Ace asked.

"I don't know what rides they have here." I told him.

"Okay. We can ride Iceland, the Water Jet, the Orbiter, then the swingy boat thingy." **(A/N: ran out of names. Lol)** Ace said.

"Then lunch?" I asked hopefully.

"Exactly." Ace said. We walked to the Iceland. It was a roller coaster. We got in line. I wasn't nervous this time. "Are you gonna put your hands up this time?" Ace asked.

"I'm gonna try." I said.

"Good luck. This ride launches you out of a tunnel." Ace told me.

"Really?" I asked. Ace nodded. "Cool!" I exclaimed. We were at the front of the line. We would be on the next cart. It was cold inside the loading house. The cart pulled up. I got in first, and Ace followed me. This time, we had separate bars. They went across our waists. The people who worked there checked our bars, and then we were pulled to the left. **(A/N: Terra Neon might not seem like it has so many rides, but it's supposed to be the only amusement park in Atmos, right? It's gotta have cool rides!!!)**

"Ready?" Ace asked.

"Yeah." I told him.

"Put your hands up." He told me. I complied and he held my right hand, once again keeping it up. Suddenly, the cart shot out of the loading house. It went straight through a dark tunnel and then out into the daylight. Outside, we shot up, curved, and then went upside down. Then, it went straight up and upside down again. Then, we went straight up, and went back down backwards. We did it all again backwards and were back in the loading house in less than a minute.

"How'd you like that?" Ace asked in the loading house.

"that… Was amazing." I said, laughing.

"Now… To the Water Jet!" Ace exclaimed, pulling me behind him. I laughed and followed him.

"What's the Water Jet?" I asked.

"See for yourself." Ace told me, pointing. In the distance, like across the terra, there was a big water slide with inner tube boats going down it. "Are you ready to get wet?" Ace asked.

"Totally!" I told him.

"Are you ready to walk across the terra?" Ace asked.

"To… Say what now? No! Either you can carry me or I'll get one of the stroller things. There are a few hills here… I could get some speed!" I joked.

"Come on, let's go." Ace told me. I walked beside him.

"We need a walking song… Hmm…"

"Don't you dare start singing." Ace joked. Well, mostly joked. He was kind of serious.

"Okay. I can't think of one anyway." I told him.

"Good. Halfway there." He said. I sighed dramatically. "Oh, come on Lazy!" Ace yelled.

"What? I'm not lazy!" I exclaimed. I looked ahead. "What the…! You didn't tell me it was uphill!" I exclaimed.

"You didn't tell me you were lazy…"

"Let's go! Come on, hurry!" I yelled, walking faster.

"What are you doing?' Ace asked.

"Proving to you that I'm not lazy! Come on, we'll run!" I yelled.

"Okay! You're not lazy!" Ace laughed. I joined him.

"Yeah. That's right." I told him. We were at the water Jet now. The line was huge. We stood quietly until I asked, "Have you ever punched someone fat and they didn't feel it?"

"Uh, no." Ace said.

"Remember Chris? He said that he could hit his brother and he wouldn't feel it. He'd ripple for, like, five minutes though." I laughed at the memory. **(A/N: I really have a friend who said that. Lol) **Ace laughed too. The line moved fast. "This line moves fast." I said.

"There's five lanes for people to separate into." Ace told me.

"Oh. That's cool." I said. The line moved again. "Tell me about some of the other rides." I said.

"The Orbiter spins you around upright and you lift out of your seat." Ace said.

"That's cool." I said.

"The swingy thing just goes back and forth, but you usually have a screaming contest with the other side."

"That's cool."

"Stop. You sound like a broken record."

"That's cool… Oh. Okay. I'm stopping now." I laughed.

"Which lane do you want to go into?" Ace asked.

"Um… Lane two.' I told him. It looked the shortest.

"About five more minutes from here." Ace told me.

"Ugh… More standing." I jokingly complained.

"La…"

"If the word 'lazy' comes out of your mouth, I'm not gonna talk to you anymore." I told him.

"Okay, okay. Touchy." He said. I giggled. We were at the front of the line now. An associate met us.

"Alright, sir. Your daughter needs to be in front." He said. _What? _Ace's thought: _Do I really look that old? _We just ignored it and I got in front of him. "Hold on tight." The associate said. Then, he pushed us down. Every time we hit a corner, freezing water would dump into the boat, and splash on us. I would, naturally, scream. At the end, we were both soaked. We looked like we'd jumped in a lake.

"That was awesome. I can't believe that guy thought I was your daughter." I laughed.

"It got me thinking… What are you to me?" Ace asked.

"Well, maybe this will answer that question." I stood on my tip-toes and kissed him.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yeah. I mean, if you want…" I said, blushing.

"Sure." Ace told me, putting his arm around me.

"To the Orbiter?" I asked. Ace nodded and we started walking, hand in hand. The Orbiter had a really short line. We got on almost immediately. There was a long bar across the entire seat, which was pretty long. We were the only ones in it though. I shrugged it off as the ride started. It started slow, swinging us back and forth, higher and higher. Then, it got the energy to swing us over the top. As we went to the top, I was crushed against my seat. As we got to the top and went back down, I lifted out of my seat. At corners, I was either pushed forward or backward, depending on which way we were going. I loved it.

When we got off, I said, "Oh my gosh. That was great!"

"Now, we can go to the swingy thing." Ace said. Again, it wasn't that far away and the line was short. We had to wait one ride.

"It looks like a boat." I said. **(A/N: You know what I'm talking about hopefully. Lol)**

"It does." Ace said.

"It should be called 'The Boat.'" I said.

"Or the boat thingy." Ace suggested. We laughed. We got onto the very end of the Boat Thingy. There was a bar that went across the entire seat. The boat moved back and forth, slowly at first. Then, it got higher and faster. The side that was in the air would scream, and then the other side would try to scream louder when they were in the air. I'm proud to say that our side won. We walked to an outdoor restaurant. "Are you ready to eat?" Ace asked.

"Is that a fat joke? Calling me a pig?" I jokingly demanded.

"N, no!" Ace exclaimed. I laughed.

"Yeah. I'm ready." I told him. We stood at the menu.

"What size do you want?" Ace asked.

"I'll just get a medium so I don't feel like a fatty." I joked. Ace ordered while I found us a table on the balcony. Ace set down some trays. "Holy crap! The servings are huge!" I exclaimed. Ace chuckled and we ate, making small talk. It was time to leave too soon. _I think I just had a perfect day._

As we were driving, a shot zipped past us. I shrieked and Ace turned angrily. "The Storm Hawks." He said.

********

Me: That chapter was fun to write! Junko cried.

Junko: The ferris wheel part was so beautiful. *sniffle*

Me: *laughs* Okaaay. Can you tell I like amusement park stories?

Junko: Sure. *still sniffling*

Me: This took twenty-eight notebook pages and eleven computer pages.

Junko: Review!

Me: Pleaze!

Word count: 3942


	8. Drama

**Chapter 7-** Drama

Me: I have finished some big tests so I'll either update a lot more or a lot less.

Stork: Why would you update more or less?

Me: Well, we won't have as much free time, but I won't have to study.

Stork: I've never seen you study.

Me: *laughs* Exactly.

Stork: You failed. You're doomed.

Me: No. My teachers have failed me.

Stork: Number1stormhawksfan does not own Storm Hawks, but she does own the Alexis, the idea of Will, Alejandro, Roberto, Fernando, Terra Perfection, the Perfectionists, and her idea. She shares the ownership of Vendetta with Numner2stormhawksfan because they created her together.

Me: Enjoy the chapter!

"What are the Storm Hawks doing down here?" I wondered out loud.

"They were probably trying to sneak into Cyclonia." Ace told me.

I sighed and said, "Maybe I should just talk to them…"

"Uh, no! We can get away. If we can't, I can take them." Ace insisted.

"Uh… Okay." I said quietly. _Weird. _Ace flew faster toward Cyclonia. _Why doesn't he want me to see them? _They kept following. "Ace, just let me talk to them. Then, maybe they'll leave us alone." I said.

"No! What makes you think they'll let you talk?" Ace demanded. I gave up and fell silent. There were six skimmers and the Condor… Wait. Six _and_ the Condor. _Who are the other two? _

"I thought the Storm Hawks had six members and four skimmers." I said.

"They do. The merb flies the ship." Ace said.

"Well, there's six skimmers back there." I said. Ace looked back.

"That means at least two more." Ace sighed.

"But… Who?" I asked.

"No idea." Ace said. A girl that I'd never seen flew in front of the group beside Aerrow. She glared at Ace.

"Vendetta, vendetta!" She yelled.

"Oh. No way…" Ace sighed.

"What? What is it?" I asked.

"Vendetta. I met her a long time ago." Ace said.

"I don't think she's very happy to see you." I said.

"She wouldn't be." Ace said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because she won't let the past go." Ace muttered. _What did he do to her? _Vendetta began to advance quickly, and everyone followed. Ace sped up.

"I still don't see why you won't just let me talk to them! I can tell them to leave me alone!" I exclaimed.

"No. I can take them." Ace insisted. I gave up.

"Fine. I'd rather we avoid a fight." I said. We turned to see the Storm Hawks… And friends… Gaining even further.

"I think that might be impossible." Ace said, turning back.

I hesitated before turning back and saying, "I guess so." I sighed.

"We might as well face them head on." Ace said, turning around.

"What? Not my point!" I screeched. Ace flew directly toward Vendetta. He pulled out that sword that glowed… What were they called…? An energy blade! He pulled one of those out! _Great. I'm in a fight. Isn't this exactly what I _didn't _want? _

"Duck." Ace told me.

"What?" I exclaimed.

"Duck! Now!" Ace yelled. I ducked as Ace connected his energy blade with Vendetta's Dao Swords. Everyone else was gaining.

"Call for back-up." I told Ace.

"No, I can…"

"Ace! Call for back-up!" I yelled as the Storm Hawks and the other guy got even closer. Ace knocked Vendetta back and handed me the radio. "What do I do?" I asked.

"Just press the button on the side and say that we need help and we're in the wastelands about twenty miles from Terra Neon. Hurry." Ace told me.

I pressed the button and said, "The Dark Ace and I need back-up. The Storm Hawks are here. We're in the wastelands about twenty miles from Terra Neon." No one answered. _I hope they heard me. _I handed the radio back to Ace. The Storm Hawks closed in on us.

"Vendetta! Do not fight with the girl in such close range!" The man I didn't know scolded. Vendetta glared at me, then at the man, and then back at me. She flew away from us.

"Ace. Please. Just let me talk to them. You're outnumbered." I cried.

"Not for long. You called for back-up, right?" Ace asked.

"Well, yeah, but no one responded so I don't know if they heard me." I explained.

"They'll be here." Ace assured me. I sighed in frustration. This was getting annoying.

"If we can't fight him, then what are we supposed to do?" Finn whined.

"I have an idea." Aerrow told them quietly. Ace and I didn't hear him. Ace was looking for a way to get around them. Aerrow flew full speed at us and grabbed my arm, pulling me off the skimmer. He pulled me up onto the skimmer in front of him. I gasped. "Alexis, calm down." Aerrow told me. He kept flying. Everyone else followed us, including Ace.

"Aerrow, I wanted to talk to you…" I began.

"No. I need to talk to you. Please, don't interupt. We're just trying to protect you. Will you listen to me?" Aerrow asked.

"Yes." I told him quietly.

"The Dark Ace has killed people…"

"I need proof." I interrupted.

"He killed my father." Aerrow told me. I froze.

"R, really?" I stuttered quietly. Aerrow nodded. A red light shot past us.

"Hold him off guys!" Aerrow called back. Piper, Vendetta, and the man I didn't know turned around.

"Aerrow… I'm so sorry." I told him quietly.

"That's not the point. The point is that you could get hurt, and we don't want that to happen. Are you okay?" Aerrow asked.

"Why didn't he tell me? We've always told each other everything. Aerrow, I'm starting to wonder… Is that even Will?" I was so confused.

"We're not for sure if that's Will." Aerrow told me honestly. The Condor was in sight. It had stopped when the chase sped up. "So… Will you let us take you home?" Aerrow asked.

"No. I can't go back home! Not like this! Anyway, without Will… I have no one there to care for me. I don't have any friends there." I explained.

"What about your parents?" Aerrow asked.

"They'll cast me out of society just like everyone else." I said. Aerrow was silent.

"Well… We'll try to find you a place to stay. For now, you can stay on the Condor with us." Aerrow told me.

"Really? After how bad I acted toward you?" I asked.

"Sure. That wasn't your fault. It was the Dark Ace's." Aerrow told me.

"Thank you." I told him. He landed his skimmer on the Condor. Finn and Junko were right behind us.

"Do you believe us?" Junko asked. I nodded.

"Seems like you would've gotten the clue. I mean, he's the _Dark_ Ace." Finn said. I shrugged and sighed.

Piper, Vendetta, and the other guy landed in the hanger bay. "Nice work everyone. Now, let's get her back home." The guy said. I looked at Aerrow.

"She's…" He began.

"What about Fernando?" Vendetta demanded.

"We'll go back for him after we hide the Perfectionist from the Cyclonians." The man said.

"Roberto, she's gonna stay with us. She can't go back home." Aerrow said. Roberto glared slightly.

"Fine. She's your problem." He said. _Why am I everyone's problem?_ "We're going back for Fernando. You, Perfectionist…!"

"My name's Alexis Krystal Smith." I snapped.

"Very well. Alexis. You stay here." Roberto told me.

"I'll stay here with her." Piper offered.

"Uh… Okay. Let's go guys." Aerrow said. They were all gone, except Stork and Piper, within minutes.

"Where's the room that I should stay in?" I asked Piper, losing my energy from being mad at Roberto.

"Um, do you need to talk?" Piper asked.

"_No._ Where's my room?" I demanded harshly. Piper looked away, looking hurt. "Sorry. I just think talking would be the worst thing for me right now." I explained.

"It's okay. If you ever need to talk… I'll be here." Piper told me.

"Thanks." I told her. She led me to my room. It was different than the one before.

"You should get some sleep. You have black circles under your eyes." Piper told me. I quickly looked in a mirror. I looked like crap.

"Sleep sounds awesome right now. Thanks." I told Piper.

"Your welcome. Sleep well." piper told me.

"Thanks." I said as she left. I fell asleep not long after that.

Me: Done! Wow! Short chapter! Only twelve notebook pages and five computer pages. This chapter is dedicated to OrangeElfGirl. Feel better soon! Hope you liked the chapter!

Word count: 1417


	9. The Storm Hawks

**Chapter 8- **The Storm Hawks

**Aerrow: Could it take you any longer to update?**

**Me: I'm so sorry! There's been a lot going on lately! To make it up to you guys, I've finished this chapter **_**and **_**the next!**

**Aerrow: Number1stormhawksfan does not own Storm Hawks, but she does own the Alexis, the idea of Will, Alejandro, Roberto, Fernando, Terra Perfection, the Perfectionists, and her idea. She shares the ownership of Vendetta with Numner2stormhawksfan because they created her together.**

* * *

I woke up early in the morning. I'd had nightmares about the Dark Ace. I'd kissed that man! It was okay when I thought it was Will, but this was just some creepy guy who seems to get his kicks by playing with my head.

I flopped back down on my bed. I might as well just stay in my room. I was going to be in a horrible mood today.

"Alexis, wake up!" Finn yelled, bursting into my room. _So much for staying in my room all day. _

"Finn! Sorry, Alexis." Aerrow told me, stepping into my room.

"It's okay. Do you need something?" I asked.

"We just wanted you to come out so you weren't cooped up in here all day." Finn said.

"Finn, why don't you go ahead and we'll meet you." Aerrow suggested. Finn shrugged and went along his merry way. "We're going out for breakfast and you're coming." Aerrow told me.

"Aerrow… I don't know. I'm not in the best mood today." I said.

"I didn't ask a question. I said you were coming." Aerrow told me. "Is something wrong?" I looked up at him in disbelief. "I mean, other than the obvious? What I mean is, do you need to tell me something?" Aerrow stuttered.

"How mad would you be if something had happened between the Dark Ace and I?" I asked.

"Oh… You didn't… You know…" Aerrow looked away.

"What…? Oh! God, no! No! No, no, no!" I yelled, a blush creeping up my face.

"Oh. That's a relief. What happened? Did you kiss him?" Aerrow asked.

"He kissed me at Terra Neon. On top of the ferris wheel. It was perfect. In that few seconds, I had no doubt in my mind that it was Will. Now… I don't know. I'm just so confused." I said.

"It's okay. That's to be expected. Well, I hope you do figure out the truth sometime. I don't want you to feel like this, and I'm afraid that if you don't figure out, this is going to bother you for the rest of your life." Aerrow said.

"I'll be fine, Aerrow. But thanks for being a friend when I needed one the most. I haven't even known you very long." I told him.

"You're welcome. Now, to food!" He said. I laughed and followed him out.

* * *

The Dark Ace entered Master Cyclonis' lab. "Dark Ace. Where's that little Perfectionist of yours?" Master Cyclonis asked.

"The Storm Hawks took her. Actually…" The Dark Ace was interrupted.

"You lost her? You couldn't keep a girl in an eleven year-old body that you obviously have feelings for and was fighting to stay with you?" Master Cyclonis demanded, some venom entering her voice.

The Dark Ace ignored the fact that Master Cyclonis had gotten Alexis' body's age wrong. "I… I wouldn't let her talk to them so, in a way, she was trying to get away." The Dark Ace said, trying to defend himself.

"Don't argue with me!" master Cyclonis suddenly yelled, turning to glare at the Dark Ace.

"My sincere apologies, Master." The Dark Ace said, bowing.

"Now, let me guess. You were going to ask me to let you lead a charge to get your little girlfriend back?" Master Cyclonis asked.

"Yes, Master." The Dark Ace said.

"If you love her, then you'll understand why I say this. You got her into this, _you_ get her out." Master Cyclonis said.

IF the Dark Ace was disappointed, it didn't show as he bowed and said, "Yes, Master."

"Now leave." She said. He turned and walked out. It looked like it was up to him to save Alexis.

* * *

"No, Alexis. I do not need a boyfriend." Piper told me at breakfast. I was messing with her and enjoying it thoroughly.

"What about that guy? He's cute." I told her.

"No, Alexis." Piper said. I looked up at her and giggled, then took a bite of my sky waffle.

"I need a girl. What about her? She's hot." Finn said. I looked at the girl he was talking about.

"She's a **(enter word of choice here)**." I told him.

"How do you know?" Finn exclaimed.

"I can tell. Ooh, he's cute." I said.

"He's gay." Finn said.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"I can tell." He mocked me. I rolled my eyes and took another bite.

"Can we stop talking about relationships?" Junko asked.

"Hey. You gotta be single to mingle. I'm single now, so I'm mingling. It's the circle of life." I joked.

"Alright guys. I was thinking we could go to Terra Tropica for a little off-time." Aerrow announced. Everyone burst into cheers.

"What's Terra Tropica?" I asked.

"It's basically a huge beach. I wouldn't even leave the ship if I were you. Something horrible always happens when Tropica is involved." Stork said.

"Uh, thanks for the tip, Stork." I told him.

"No problem." He said.

Radarr squawked and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. "Hey. Got any of those that would fit me?" He handed me a pair. "Sweetness! Thanks!" I laughed.

"Then, it's settled. We're going to Terra Tropica!" Aerrow yelled.

"Love the enthusiasm." I joked.

"I'll teach you how to surf. No one surfs better than the Finnster." Finn told me.

"Actually, Finn, I recall Aerrow, Junko, and Radarr being able to surf better than you." piper said.

I giggled and said, "I don't really think I would like surfing anyway, but thanks for the offer."

"Oh, come on! You'd love surfing! It's…"

"Evil!" Stork interrupted Junko. I smirked.

"No. it's fun. don't listen to Stork." Junko told me.

"You have to try." Aerrow told me.

I sighed and said, "Whatever you say."

"Sir. The Storm Hawks were spotted in a diner near Tropica and are supposedly headed there." A talon reported.

"Good work." The Dark Ace told him through his radio. Master Cyclonis had never said that he couldn't tell the talons to keep an eye out for Alexis. "Was the Perfectionist with them?" He asked.

"Yes." The talon said. The Dark Ace set off on his skimmer toward Terra Tropica. He had to tell Alexis the truth as soon as possible or he might lose her forever.

* * *

The Storm Hawks and I landed on Tropica. "You can use my spare surf board." Finn told me. Then, he ran off of the ship. I sighed and walked after him. This was gonna be a long day.

* * *

**Me: There! This was a short chapter, but the next chapter has action in it!**

**Dark Ace: Am I in it?**

**Me: A little.**

**Dark Ace: Good. The more reviews, the faster I get put in the story, so review!**

**Me: The next chapter is ready, but I won't post it until I get a review.**

**Dark Ace: REVIEW!**

**Me: This took fifteen notebook pages and four computer pages! Bye!**

**Word count: 1,229**


	10. Raptors

**Chapter 9- **Raptors

**Piper: You got this one up fast! Orangelfgirl earned you this one. Thanks!**

**Me: I hadn't even started typing chapter eight before I finished writing this chapter.**

**Piper: What's the rush?**

**Me: I have an idea for another three stories, but I don't want to start another until I finish this and my other story.**

**Piper: Number1stormhawksfan does not own Storm Hawks, but she does own Alexis, the idea of Will, Alejandro, Roberto, Frenando, Terra Perfection, the Perfectionists, and her idea. She shares the ownership of Vendetta with Number2stormhawksfan.**

* * *

"Ready to try it?" Finn asked. Aerrow, Junko, and him had just tried to explain to me how to surf. I wasn't so sure that I got it.

"We'll give it a try." I said.

"You don't sound too excited." Junko said.

"Huh. Maybe it's cuz I'm not." I told him.

"You'll be fine." Aerrow told me. We began to walk.

"If you say so. I'm clumsy, I tell you!" I exclaimed. We reached the ocean. The boys paddled on their boards beside me. A wave headed towards us.

"Ready?" Aerrow asked.

"Most likely not." I told him.

"Stand... Now!" He exclaimed. I stood with them and wobbled.

"Get your balance!" Junko yelled. I shifted my weight. I was okay until the surfboard flipped me forward into the water. I screamed as I hit the water. Then, I came up coughing. Finnpaddled to me and pulled me onto his board.

"Don't worry. No one gets it on their first try." He told me.

"What about my board?" i asked.

"It's on land." He told me.

When we got to land, Piper silently giggled. "Wanna go again?" Aerrow asked.

"Uh, I'm gonna take a quick break and catch my breath. You guys go ahead." I told them.

"Alright. Whatever you say." He told me. I sat beside Piper.

"You said I need a boyfriend. Maybe _you_ do." She told me.

"After my last boyfriend, i don't think I want a new one for a _long_ time." I told her.

"true. Sorry for bringing it up." She told me.

"It's okay." I replied, watching Finn wipeout. "You know, watching Finn makes me feel _a lot_ better about my surfing skills." I joked. piper giggled and watched as he tried, and failed, to stand once again on his surfboard.

"You should go try again. just focus on your balance." She told me.

"Okay. I'll try." I said. I stood and grabbed my board.

"Are you gonna try again?" Junko asked.

"No, I'm just cruising, carrying this board that's bigger than me." I said sarcastically.

We swam out and caught a wave. I focused on my balance and smiled. It was working! I was a few feet away from land when, in my excitement, I lost my balance and fell. I swam up above the water. "Oh! So close!" I exclaimed.

"Wanna try again, or are you taking another break?" Aerrow asked, pulling me onto his board.

"I'm going again." I said.

I swam out with the guys and focused harder than ever on my balance. I made it all the way to the shore. I fell onve I got on the sand, but still an improvement. "She sticks the landing! Almost!" I yelled.

"I'm gonna start barbecuing." junko told us. I sat beside Piper and yawned.

She giggled and asked, "Tired?"

"Hey! Surfing wears you down! Now I'm interested in another 's' sport." i told her.

"What 's' sport?"She asked.

"Sleep." i told her, lying down.

"How about instead of the 's' sport, we try a double 'r' sport?" Piper asked.

"What?" I asked.

"Rest and relax." Piper said.

"That sounds almost as good as the 's' sport." i told her.

"Aww! Well, the girls are gonna be boring now!" Finn complained.

"Sorry, but I need my beauty rest." i said.

"I thought it was beauty sleep." Finn said.

"That too, later." I said.

Finn groaned and stalked off with Junko. "Tropica's so... I can't even describe it. It's a... beash?" I asked.

Piper giggled and said, "No. A _beach_. B-E-A-C-H. Didn't you have any on Terra Perfection?"

"No. We hardly even had water. We had enough to dring and to take showers and wash out hands and other necassaries. We didn't have any... uh..." I stuttered.

"Oceans?" Piper asked.

"Yeah!"

"Where'd you get the water, then?" piper asked.

"We mined it fresh out of the terra." I told her. We sat in silence for a few minutes.

Suddenly, Piper asked, "Can you fly regularly with your wings?"

"I think. I'm not for sure though. We just learned how to fly in case of emergencies." I told her.

"Why don't you try?" Piper asked.

"I'd need something to jump off of." I told her.

"Can't you just shift your wings and take off from the ground?" Piper asked.

"Yeah, but that hurts." I told her.

"Alright. All the land on Tropica is pretty flat... What about a tree?" Piper suggested.

"All the trees here are palm trees. I need a good, sturdy foothold." I told her.

"What if Junko threw you?" She asked.

"I guess that could work." I said, unsure.

"Junko! Could you some here?" Piper called.

Junko walked over and asked, "Need something?"

"Do you think you could throw Alexis into the air so she could fly?" Piper asked. I blushed beside her.

"Uh, sure." Junko said.

"Um, okay. Don't hold back, now! Toss me as high as you can." I told Junko.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yeah." I said.

Suddenly, I was shot into the air. I screamed and desperately flapped my wings. I wasn't falling anymore! I'd done it! I was flying!

I laughed out loud. I loved the feeling of the wind blowing through my hair. "I'm going to fly around the terra for a while. I'll be back soon!" I yelleddown to the Storm Hawks.

"Be careful, Alexis!" I heard Aerrow yell as I flew away. I tried to speed up. I couldn't turn very well yet, so I didn't try going below the tree line.

"What do we have here?" Someone said. I turned. There were four skimmers headed towards me. their riders were lizards. I looked at them in shock as they began to circle me.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"We're raptors." The apparent leader told me.

"Raptors?" I asked.

"Yes. And what would you be?" He asked.

"A Perfectionist. I'm Alexis." I said.

"Repton. Now, if you'd be so kind to come with us, we'd like to... Learn more about you." The raptor said. I didn't like the tone of his voice.

"I don't think so." I said slowly.

"You see, _dear_, you don't have a choice." Repton said. Suddenly, one of the other lizards flew forward and hit me on the head. I cried out in pain and began to fall. I surrendered to the darkness when I hit a skimmer.

* * *

The Dark Ace was only a half hour away from Terra Tropica. Of course, the Storm Hawks would take her to a beach. they'd want her to relax. At least they knew how to keep her happy. Who knew what they'd told her though. She might hate him right now if they'd told her who he really was and what he'd done in his life.

* * *

Junko had started working on supper as soon as Alexis had left. Now, it was almost done and she still hadn't gotten back.

"Should we look for her? I remember when I got lost here. It was horrible." Stork exclaimed.

"No. We'll wait a little longer." Piper said.

"Are you sure? She could be hurt." Finn said.

"Guys, this is the first time she's gotten to freely fly. I'm sure she's just lost track of time." Piper said confidently.

* * *

The Dark Ace saw Terra Tropica. Finally, he'd be able to end this. He descended to land and drove until he saw the Condor. He parked. He'd catch them as they were leaving.

* * *

The Storm Hawks sat with their cold, untouched food in front of them. Alexis still hadn't returned.

piper was the first to say what everyone was thinking. "Guys, something's wrong. Alexis is ni trouble."

"Come on! Let's go get our skimmers! We'll find her!" Finn yelled. The Storm Hawks made their way to the Condor to find the Dark Ace.

* * *

I awoke in a cage in a pitch black room. I gasped in fear and tried desperately to see. I had to calm down.

I sat perfectly still and let my eyes adjust to the dark. there was nothing special in there.

The door to the room suddenly opened. Light poured in and I shielded and closed my eyes.

"Looks like the Perfectionist has finally woken up, boys. Now we can see why they're so special and if she's worth anything to us." I recognized Repton's voice.

"Just leave me alone! I'm no use to you! I won't do anything you tell me to!" I yelled.

"Oh, yes you will. There is a lot of pain in store for you if you can't complete our little... tests." Repton said. "Leugy, unlock her cage and Hoartz, you put this nice, little collar around her neck." He added.

I moved to the back of the cage. This wasn't going to end well.

* * *

"What are you doing here, Dark Ace?" Aerrow demanded.

"I..." The Dark Ace began.

"Did you take Alexis?" Piper demanded.

"What...?"

"Where is she?" Finn demanded.

"You don't know? You _lost_ her?" The Dark Ace demanded, getting angrier by the second.

"You don't have her?" Junko asked.

"No. I came to talk to her! How could you lose her?" The Dark Ace demanded angrily.

"She wanted to fly around..." piper began.

"_Why?_ A Perfectionist is taught not to fly unless of emergency." The Dark Ace said, glaring daggers at Piper.

"I knida... Urged her to." Piper said slowly.

"You _urged_ her to fly? Look what you've done! Now she's gone! What did you do to her?" The Dark Ace demanded.

"What do you mean?" Aerrow asked angrily.

"She had to have run away. What did you do to her?" The Dark Ace demanded.

"Nothing, which is a hell of a lot less than what _you_ did to her!" Aerrow yelled.

"If she didn't run away, who would've taken her?" The dark Ace asked, ignoring aerrow's accusation.

"What about... Raptors?" Stork asked, gulping. Everyone was silent.

"I have to go get her." the Dark Ace said, suddenly turning.

"Wait!" Aerrow yelled.

"What?" The Dark Ace snapped.

"You and Alexis aren't exactly on the best terms right now. Did you ever think that doesn't want to see you?" Aerrow asked.

"What are you saying, sky knight?" The Dark Ace hissed.

"I'm saying that you need to leave the rescuing to us." Aerrow said.

"She's not going to care who saves her as long as she's saved!" The Dark Ace yelled.

"How do we know that you didn't plan this so you couls save her to get her to forgive you?" Piper demanded.

"I got mad enough, didn't I?" The dark Ace pointed out.

"I bet it's all an act." Finn said.

"Whatever! You Storm Hawks can't stop me from going after Alexis!" The Dark Ace yelled, running to his ride and taking off.

"We have to beat him there! Come on!" Aerrow commanded.

* * *

The raptors had put a shock collar around my neck. They started with asking me questions. If I didn't answer, they shocked me. Believe me, _it hurt_.

"That's enough questions for now, boys. Now, let's find out her physical abilities. Come on, girl." Repton said. i followed obediantly, not wanting to be shocked. "Perfectionists are amazingly obediant when threatened with pain." Repton laughed. I glared at the floor.

When we stopped, I looked up. there was a huge maze in front of me. I whimpered in desperation. "You're gonna run as fast as you can to finish the maze. If you slow down, we shock you. If you fly, we shock you." The skinny lizard, I'd learned that his name was Spitz, said.

"Okay." I said, trying as hard as I could to keep my voice from quivering.

A couple of minutes later, I stood at the entrance of the maze.

"Go!" Repton yelled, sending a small shock through my body. I took off.

* * *

"Approaching Terra Bogaton!" Stork announced.

"Thanks Stork. Finn! Any Cyclonian activity anywhere?" Aerrow called.

"Nope!" Finn yelled back.

"Okay. I need you and Junko on the blasters! Radarr, why don't you take over the scopes." Aerrow suggested.

Radarr squawked and saluted. then, he scampered to the scopes. Finn and Junko took their stations at the air cannons.

"Fire when you see the Bogaton air defenses." Aerrow commanded.

"That's be now, Junko!" Finn yelled.

* * *

I panted and collapsed at the end of the maze. Each time I finished it, i got a fifteen minute break while they reset it and changed it. A raptor forced water through my lips. I was too tired to even move. "That's enough!" Repton yelled. "Now, I want some blood samples." He added.

I groaned. I hated needles. "Her energy and power is quite amazing. With a weapon like her, we could even become stronger than Cyclonia." i heard a raptor scientist gush.

they were going to use me as a weapon. A weapon against the Atmos. I was led away by a scientist to a lab for blood samples.

* * *

**Me: Sorry it took longer than I said it would! I went on vacation and I couldn't work on it from there. **

**Master Cyclonis: The raptors are going to become more powerful than Cyclonia? I don't think so!**

**Me: Chill. It's just a story, which means for it to continue, it needs reviews!**

**Master Cyclonis: Review, people!**

**Me: This took twenty-one notebook pages and seven computer pages! Bye!**

**Word count: 2694**


	11. Saved, Forgivness, and Nicknames

Chapter 10-

Saved, Forgiveness, and Nicknames

**Finn: You finally decided to update?**

**Me: I was on vacation, but this chapter is also long, so it took a while to write.**

**Finn: Excuses, excuses.**

**Me: I know, I know. On with the disclaimer!**

**Finn: Number1stormhawksfan does not own Storm Hawks, but she does own Alexis, the idea of Will, Alejandro, Roberto, Fernando, Terra Perfection, the Perfectionists, and her idea. She shares the ownership of Vendetta with Number2stormhawksfan.**

**Me: Hope you like this extra-long chapter!**

* * *

I was dizzy and tired. All I wanted was a warm bed to sleep in. "We're all done here. Take her back to her cage." Repton said. No warm bed for me. I fell into an uncomfortable, uneasy sleep in my cage.

The Storm Hawks couldn't land the Condor on Terra Bogaton, so Aerrow, Finn, Junko, and Radarr took the skimmers.

They drove toward Repton's palace. They were close in about fifteen minutes, and no guards attacked them. Something was very wrong here.

"Dark Ace! I want you to forget about that girl and get back to Cyclonia NOW! You have set aside your duties for too long! If you don't turn around RIGHT NOW, don't even bothercoming back!" Master Cyclonis yelled angrily through the Dark Ace's radio.

"I thought you needed another Perfectionist." The Dark Ace said.

"Not as much as you think. I was doing you a favor by letting you keep her and you blew it!" She snapped.

"You talk about her like she's some pet who's run away!"

"This has gone on long enough. Get back here." Then, the radio went dead. The argument was over. He'd have to forget about Alexis for now.

* * *

Aerrow, Finn, Junko, and Radarr saw where the guards were when they reached the palace. they were all guarding it. Alexis had to be here. "Radarr. Could you distract them?" Aerrow asked. Radarr whined, but nodded. He ran in front of the guards. He squawked, stuck out his tongue, and then ran off with the guards on his tail.

"Coast is clear." Junko said.

"Let's go." Finn said. They climbed off their skimmers and opened the door as quietly as they could. No guards in this hallway. It only led to stairs.

"Finn, check the second floor. Junko, the third. Me, the fourth. Radio if you find anything. Meet at the entrance of the fifth floor if you don't." Aerrow said. The team of three split up.

* * *

I was awake, but I wasn't ready to let the raptors know that. Maybe I could catch some information that could help me escape.

"This child will do whatever we tell her to do as long as she's wearing that collar." Repton was saying.

_I'm no child! Besides that, I need to get this collar off. I can't do anything with it on! _I slowly fingered the collar. It was welded on. _If I can't take it off, maybe I can break it. But how?_

_"_Do you really think Cyclonia will give in because of a little girl?" A scientist, most likely, asked.

_Little girl? Come on, people! I'm seventeen! SEVENTEEN!_

"Why wouldn't they? She's extremely powerful. I bet she could even take down the Dark Ace." Repton said.

_You think I'm powerful? Check out the other Perfectionists!_

"What if they take her?" The scientist pondered.

"Then someone's in trouble!" Repton exclaimed. They left the room. Time to work on this collar.

* * *

"Nothing." Aerrow, Junko, and Finn announced on the fifth floor.

"I'll search the seventh floor. Junko, the sixth. Finn, this floor. Meet at the entrance of the eighth floor. Radio if you find anything." Aerrow commanded.

* * *

I sighed in exasperation. I couldn't get this collar off. i had nothing to break it with.

I sat against the back of the cage and thought. Suddenly, an idea hit me like a pile of bricks.

* * *

Finn walked quietly through the corridors. There were hardly and guards. He didn't know exactly what he was looking for. He just had a feeling that he'd know it when he saw it.

* * *

Aerrow searched as quickly and carefully as he could on the seventh floor. He heard a noise down the hall. He went to check it out.

He looked around a corner to find Radarr whining and searching the hall. "Hey there, buddy. Good work back there." Aerow said.

Radarr looked at him and cried out happily.

"Um, I think I found something. Get over here fast." Junko said through the radio.

"Be right there." Aerrow said.

* * *

I crawled to the door of the cage. "Repton!" I called. i waited. This plan had to work or else I was in for a world of pain.

"What do you want, rat?" Repton asked, entering.

"Can you walk around with me so I can stretch my legs and wings?" i asked.

"What makes you think I trust you?" Repton asked.

"You'll shock me." I pointed out.

"Guards! Get me some wing clips so she can't fly!" Repton yelled_. Yes_!

"Thank you." I told him, sounding grateful.

A guard entered with some bands, which Repton strapped around my wings. We could leave now.

* * *

Aerrow, Finn, Junko, and Radarr watched the heavily guarded lab. That had to be where Alexis was. He didn't have an inkling of a plan, but then Repton walked out of the room, pulling Alexis beside him.

"We're gonna get her back, guys. This is it." Aerrow said.

* * *

I looked at the guards as I walked out. My plan was going perfectly, until Aerrow, Finn, Junko, and Radarr showed up. Aerrow slashed with his swords at Repton and the guards. Finn and Junko pulled me into a run beside them. "Wait! Wait!" I screamed.

"What?" Finn exclaimed. A shock shot through my body. I screamed in pain and fell to the floor.

"Alexis! What is it?" Junko asked, picking me up and continuing to run

"The collar!" I forced out.

"It's a shock collar! Get it off, junko!" Finn yelled.

We hid behind a corner. Junko lit up his knuckle busters and pulled the collar apart and off.

"Thank you." I murmured before I blacked out from the pain.

* * *

Aerrow ran with Radarr on his shoulder to catch up to Finn, Junko, and Alexis. He finally found them. Alexis was unconscious and Junko was carrying her. "What happened?" He asked.

"A shock collar was causing her a lot of pain, but we got it off. She's going to be okay, Aerrow, so let's make sure she's safe when she wakes up." Junko said.

"I couldn't have said it better myself. Let's get out of here. Stork. pick us up on the sixth floor." Aerrow said into his radio.

"Is Alexis there?" Piper asked.

"Yeah. She's unconscious from a shock collar Repton put on her, but she'll be okay." Aerrow said.

"We'll be there in a minute. Be ready." Piper said. The boys began to run toward the west side of the palace. That was where they'd agreed to meet.

When they reached the window, the Condor was just approaching. "There they are! Get them!" A guard yelled. They began to run towards them.

The Condor pulled up outside the window. Finn jumped on. "Storm Hawks. Stealing my experiment?" The Storm Hawks looked to see Repton.

"I'll take him, Junko! Get Alexis on the ship!" Aerrow said, jumping at Repton with his blades drawn.

Repton pulled out his boomerang and threw it at Aerrow. It missed his head by about a foot. "You missed!" Aerrow taunted.

"Not quite." Repton said, grinning. Suddenly, Aerrow was knocked forward from behind. The boomerang had come back. Repton caught the boomerang and raised it above Aerrow, preparing the finishing blow.

"No!" Finn yelled, shooting his crossbow and hitting Repton. Aerrow jumped up while Repton was recovering. He ran towards the Condor.

"Go!" He yelled. The Condor began to move away. He jumped and missed the edge. He began to fall, but was caught by an arm. It was Finn. Finn pulled him up. "Thanks." He told him.

"No problem." Finn said.

"Guys. Alexis is coming to. Get in here." Piper said.

* * *

I woke up on the Condor. "Are the raptors gone?" i asked, dazed.

"Yeah. We took care of them." Finn said. I stood and my wings fell to the floor, pulling me down with their dead weight. Piper gently took the straps off my wings and i carefully moved my wings.

"Are you okay?" Junko asked.

"Now I am." I yawned. "Tired though."

"Are you kidding? You've been sleeping all day." Finn exclaimed.

"Not comfortably." I pointed out.

"How about you rest?" Piper suggested.

"Yeah. Where's my room again?" i asked.

"This way." Piper sighed. I smiled apologetically and followed her.

* * *

The Dark Ace walked into Master Cyclonis' throne room. He bowed and said, "Master."

"The raptors claim to have information on the Perfectionist. I want you to go get it." Master Cyclonis said.

"Do they have Alexis?" The Dark Ace asked.

"Not anymore. The Storm Hawks took her, but not before they got a good amount of information. Forget about the girl and go." Master Cyclonis commanded.

"Yes, master." The Dark Ace said, setting off for Terra Bogaton.

* * *

I woke up fairly early the next day. I got up and made my way to the main room. Everyone was already in there. "Hey guys. Can anyone refresh my memory on where the kitchen is?" I asked.

"I'll cook you some breakfast." Junko said, leading me away.

"That's okay. I can cook..."

"No! Really! I want to!" Junko told me.

"Well, okay. I'm not gonna turn down a perfectly good meal." I said, grinning.

"Perfectly good meal my... Ow!" Finn yelled as Piper slugged him. I giggled.

"I'll make your meal. Sit." Junko ordered. i sat by Stork. Junko left the room.

"Finn. Is Junko's cooking really that bad?" I asked.

"Ah, sometimes. I'm sure he'll make something that we usually like for you though." Finn said.

"And he's, like, the cook around here?" I asked.

"I guess. Do we all have nicknames?" Piper asked.

"Pretty much." I said.

"I'm almost afraid to ask what they are." Aerrow laughed.

"I am scared." Stork put in.

"Aerrow is the hero. Piper is the smarty-pants. Finn is the cocky, full-of-himself, show-off. Junko is the macho man that cooks... Nacho man. Stork is the paranoid one. Radarr's the unknown species." I said.

"Did you make nicknames for the Cyclonians?" Finn asked.

"No, but I could. Master Cyclonis is the psycho. The Dark Ace is the... the... wh..." I paused.

"The one who can beat everyone else except a group of teenagers?" Stork asked.

"No. Too long. He's the pedophile." I said. The Storm Hawks burst out laughing. "Ravess is the perfectionist from what I've heard, no reference to me, of course. Snipe is the macho man, not to be confused with Junko, the nacho man." I finished.

"What about the talons?" Piper asked.

"Dude, they're clones." I said.

"The raptors?" Stork asked.

"Creep lizard men! All of 'em!" I exclaimed.

* * *

The Dark Ace entered the raptor's palace, looking suspiciously at the smoking hole in the wall. It wasn't too long until he saw Repton. "You have information for us?" The Dark Ace asked.

Repton turned in surprise. Upon seeing the Dark Ace, he said, "Oh, yes. On the Perfectionist. I have the papers right here." He handed the Dark Ace some folders. The Dark Ace left without another word. He began to drive back to Cyclonia.

* * *

"They have how much information about you?" Aerrow asked.

"Even more than the Cyclonians. Even more than you guys. Even more than Will, or anyone at home." I said.

"And you told them all this?" Finn asked.

"Unwillingly. I had that shock collar on, remember?" I told him.

"I think the best thing to do would be to go back to Bogaton and get the info. The raptors could plan something bad with all that information." Piper said.

"Alexis, you should probably sit this out so they don't just take you and get the information again." Aerrow told me. I nodded. "Okay. Stork, turn around. We're going back to Bogaton." Aerrow announced. Stork groaned, but turned the Condor around.

We reached Terra Bogaton in about an hour. "Junko, Alexis, and Stork will stay on the ship and be back-up. Piper, Finn, Radarr, and I will storm the palace. Got it?" Aerrow asked. Everyone nodded. Piper, Radarr, Finn, and Aerrow left.

"Why didn't the Bogaton air cannons shoot at us?" I asked.

"They're still down from when we saved you." Junko said.

"Oh." I said.

* * *

Aerrow, Piper, Finn, and Radarr stormed over to Repton. No one had their weapons drawn. No one was in the mood to fight. "Where's Alexis' information?" Aerrow demanded.

"I'm afraid you're a bit too late. The Dark Ace has it, and by now, I'd suspect that Master Cyclonis has it." Repton said, smirking. Aerrow glared at him.

"Back to the Condor." Aerrow told Piper, Finn, and Radarr. "We're making a quick stop to Cyclonia." He added, never taking his eyes off Repton.

* * *

It hadn't been a half hour before everyone was back. "Did you get my information?" I asked.

"No. The Dark Ace took it. We're going to Cyclonia to get it." Aerrow said.

"Alexis isn't safe there." Stork pointed out.

"She'll stay on the ship. Stork, Junko, and Finn will guard her." Aerrow said.

"Aerrow, we won't stand a chance against all those Cyclonians." Piper said.

"You're right. We'll have to sneak in." Aerrow said.

"What about the Condor?" Junko asked.

"Stay out of sight." Aerrow said.

* * *

The Dark Ace entered Master Cyclonis' throne room. It'd only been about two hours earlier when he'd delivered Alexis' information to her.

"The raptors have told me an interesting bit of information. The Storm Hawks are coming." Master Cyclonis told him. She smirked as she saw the spark of hope in his eyes. "The talons will take care of whoever sneaks in. You take your skimmer to find the Condor. Use this crystal to short out the power. Grab the girl and get out." Master Cyclonis told him, handing him a crystal.

"My deepest thanks, Master." The Dark Ace said.

"Dark Ace. Don't mess this up. Sit down and talk to her. Tell her the complete truth." Master Cyclonis told him. Was she giving him advice? "Go. Hurry." She said.

* * *

We landed in the deep pipes of Cyclonia. "Stay down here, no matter what happens." Aerrow told Storm, Junko, Finn, and I.

"Okay." We said.

"Alexis, if any talons come, I want you to hide. Stork, Junko, and Finn, retreat if things look bad." Aerrow commanded.

"What about Alexis?" Finn asked.

"She can take care of herself." Aerrow said.

"Finally! Someone sees that!" I exclaimed.

Aerrow smiled at me and said, "Be safe, guys." Piper, Radarr, and him left. I looked up at Junko, who smiled comfortingly at me.

I smiled back and said, "I'm starved. I'm getting something to eat."

"How can you eat in a time like this?" Stork asked.

"I'm hungry!" I yelled back, walking away. I entered the kitchen and shifted around in the cabinets. I grabbed some bread and walked back into the main room. "You guys really need to go shopping."

"Don't eat the bread!" Finn exclaimed.

"Dude! I'm starving! Why not?" I asked.

"We need it for a meal plan." Finn told me.

"Okay! _You_ find me something to eat then!" I exclaimed.

"Okay! Come on!" Finn exclaimed. I followed him down the hall to the kitchen.

* * *

Aerrow, Piper, and Radarr tip-toed through the corridors of Cyclonia. "Do you remember where Master Cyclonis' office is?" Aerrow asked Piper.

"From the Ultimate Warrior Championships or whatever? Yeah." Piper said.

"I think we should start there." Aerrow said.

"We can't know if she's in there or not. It's too dangerous, Aerrow." Piper said.

"We can listen outside the door." Aerrow said.

"It's too heavily guarded." Piper said.

"What can we do then?" Aerrow asked.

"Uhh.. What if...? Yes! I've got a plan!" Piper exclaimed.

* * *

The Dark Ace readied his skimmer to patrol every inch of Cyclonia. He took off out of the hanger bay. He flew around the outskirts, taking care to look around the rocks. After that, he looked around all the spots big enough to hide a ship the size of the Condor. Nothing. Had his master been wrong about the Storm Hawks. No. Had the raptors been lying? Possibly... He began to fly back to the hanger bay when he glimpsed down at the clouds. Suddenly, he knew where they were. The pipes under Cyclonis.

* * *

Finn had made ma a salad. I sat eating while Junko watched through the scopes. "We should take shifts keeping watch." I said.

"Why?" Finn asked.

"I wanna help." I told him, walking to the kitchen to wash my dish off.

When I entered again, Finn grabbed my arm and pulled me back toward the hallway. "What?" I asked.

"The Dark Ace found the ship. He's trying to get on board. Junko's taking care of him though. For now, I need you to hide. Just in case. We'll call you when everything's clear. Go! Hurry!" Finn yelled, pushing me into the hall. I froze as the door slammed. I tried to open it, but it wouldn't open.

"I am tired of hiding!" I yelled, banging on the door.

* * *

Aerrow, Piper, and Radarr had been watching the guards for a while. "Okay. They switch every half hour." Piper stated.

"Yeah. What now?" Aerrow asked.

"We sabotage the incoming guards and take their uniforms. Then, we'll ask if Master Cyclonis is inside." Piper said.

"What if she is?" Aerrow asked.

"I'll fight her. You get the papers." Piper said.

"Sounds good. Let's do it." Aerrow said.

* * *

I had given up banging on the door. Now, I was just sitting beside it. Maybe this Dark Ace would find me. I wanted to give him a piece of my mind.

Suddenly, the door opened. Speak of the devil. The Dark Ace stared at me and I glared at him. "Alexis..."

"Save it!" I snapped.

"W, what?" The Dark Ace asked, hurt showing in his eyes.

"You're a pretty good actor, you know that? You really had me fooled. I really thought you were my best friend. But it was all an act! And you kissed me, you pedophile!" I yelled.

"I deserved that, but you have to listen to me." The Dark Ace told me.

My mouth dropped and I stared at him. "How stupid do you think I am?" I demanded.

"Alexis..."

"Shut up! Do you really think I'm ever going to trust you again?" I asked, tears clouding my eyes. I turned away.

"Alexis! You have to listen to me!" The Dark Ace yelled.

"No, I don't." I told him, brushing past him.

"Actually, yes you do." He said, pulling me into his arms and using a knock-out crystal.

* * *

Piper and Aerrow adjusted their guard uniforms before approaching the present guards at Master Cyclonis' door. "We're here to relieve you." Aerrow said.

"Finally." One of the guards complained.

"Is Master Cyclonis inside?" Piper asked.

"No. She's working on the Perfectionist's files with the Dark Ace, remember?" The guard asked.

"Uh, where's she at again?" Piper asked.

"Refresh our memory." Aerrow added.

"She never told us." The guard said.

"Ah. That must be why we can't remember." Aerrow said.

"Well, we're off." The guard said, walking away with his partner.

"Stay here. I'll go in." Piper said. Aerrow nodded as she stepped into the room.

* * *

I woke up on the front of a skimmer. I looked around. All i saw was red sky. Suddenly, it all came to me. I was in Cyclonia with the Dark Ace. This must've been his skimmer. I tried to sit up straight, but strong arms held me still. It was the Dark Ace. I looked at him in disbelief and asked, "Why?"

"I don't trust you not to jump off." The Dark Ace told me.

"But I'm sore." I complained.

"Too bad. I need to talk to you." The Dark Ace said.

"Now would be the time. I hardly have the energy to argue, let alone slap you." I told him.

"I know you hate me, but I..."

"Why'd you pretend to be Will?" I asked.

"Alexis, I _am_ Will."

"Then why didn't you tell me how many people you killed? Why didn't you tell me how many bad things you'd done?" I asked.

"I didn't want you to be scared of me, or hate me, but I guess it's too late for that." The Dark Ace said.

"I guess it is." I said, looking away.

"I was only trying to protect you." The Dark Ace told me, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I shruged it off and snapped, "That's the oldest line in the book, Dark Ace."

"What'd you call me?"

"I called you Dark Ace because that's who you are to me now. Not Will, not Ace. The Dark Ace." I told him.

"Alexis..."

"I don't wanna talk to you anymore." I said, ending the conversation.

* * *

Piper looked around Master Cyclonis' desk, trying to touch as little as she could. "Piper. She's coming." Aerrow whispered frantically. Piper tried to get out, but didn't make it fast enough.

Master Cyclonis stood smirking at them. "Hello, Storm Hawks. I figured you'd be here." She said.

"Why didn't you try to stop us then?" Piper demanded.

"The Dark Ace needed some time to complete the real mission here. Why don't you go back to the Condor. There's quite a surprise waiting there for you." Master Cyclonis said.

Piper pulled out her staff, but Aerrow pulled her back. "Aerrow!" She complained.

"We have to check on the rest of the team." Aerrow said urgently. Piper followed him, throwing a glare at Master Cyclonis as she ran away.

* * *

The Dark Ace tried to help me off his skimmer in Cyclonia, but I'd pushed his hands away, saying, "Don't touch me." He looked hurt for a split second before recovering his strong front.

"Follow me, then." He told me, turning.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"We'll have a visit with Master Cyclonis, then I'll take you to your room." The Dark Ace told me as he began to walk. I hesitated, but followed him.

We stopped in front of Master Cyclonis' lab. We entered and the Dark Ace bowed.

"So, you got her. Did you follow my advice?" Master Cyclonis asked.

"Yes." The Dark Ace said.

"And it still didn't work. You know how to hold a grudge, Alexis." Master Cyclonis said, turning to smirk at me. I looked from her to the Dark Ace, confused.

The Dark Ace put his hand on my shoulder, and I didn't brush him off this time. "We both want you to forgive me." He said. I looked away sadly, remembering all the things he'd done for me. My eyes filled. "Alexis?"

"Can I go to my room now? I'm so confused. I wanna sleep." I said.

"Of course. Come on." The Dark Ace told me. I glanced at Master Cyclonis again. She was turning away with a small smile on her face. I looked up at the Dark Ace to see if he was in on something, but if he was, he didn't show it.

"Am I gonna be in the same room?" I tentatively asked the Dark Ace after walking a few minutes in silence.

"Yeah." The Dark Ace replied simply.

"Is that Fernando guy still a prisoner here?" I asked.

"Yes. Along with his squadron, the Riders del Cielo." The Dark Ace told me. "You're forbidden from leaving your room without me, so don't even think about going to them for help." He added.

"Okay." I said quietly.

"I'm still across the hall from you." The Dark Ace told me.

"Okay." I repeated, just as quietly. We reached my room and he followed me in. I frowned at him, but said nothing.

"There are some clothes in the closet and a night gown on your bed." The Dark Ace told me.

"Okay." I repeated once again.

"I'll wake you up in the morning for breakfast."

"Okay."

"Then, maybe we can go to Tropica." He said.

"Alright." I said.

"I'll leave you now. Sleep well." The Dark Ace told me, leaving.

* * *

Aerrow hit his fist on the table_. Why didn't she hide? I told her to hide_! He thought angrily. Now, the Cyclonians had her and the Atmos was in danger. Master Cyclonis had been a big problem with one person with perfect power. Now, she had two times that power.

"I told her to hide, but she banged on the door, then sat beside it. That's all I know. The Dark Ace was too strong for us." Finn explained.

"Please. Can someone please tell me that he didn't hurt her?" Aerrow asked.

"No one saw." Junko said.

"I swear, I'll snap every bone in his body if he hurt that innocent girl." Aerrow said.

"I'm sure he didn't hurt her." Piper said.

"We should've just taken her back home and told them she was kidnapped so they wouldn't cast her out." Aerrow said.

"Lie to them? Aerrow... They would've found out eventually. Then, she would run again and the Dark Ace would find her again." Piper said.

"We have a distress call from a deserted terra near Bogaton." Stork announced.

"I guess Alexis'll have to wait." Aerrow sighed.

"She'll be fine, Aerrow. She's a fighter." Finn told him.

* * *

I sat awake in my room in Cyclonia. How could I get out of here? Questions like this buzzed through my mind, keeping me awake. I sighed and stood up to stretch my legs. I walked to the window and stared out. It was pretty late. Maybe I could sneak out without the Dark Ace noticing. I crept to the door and opened it. So far, so good. Meaning, no one was outside my room or even in the hall. I stepped out of the room. Nothing. I walked as silently as i could down the hall. I was almost to the stairs when someone asked, "Where do you think you're going?"

I spun around to be face to face with the Dark Ace. "I, um, I was hungry. I didn't have lunch or supper today." I lied.

"Then I'll take you to get something to eat You could've just woken me up and told me." He said, taking my arm and leading me down the stairs.

"It was late and I didn't wanna wake you. I was just gonna, um, ask a guard." I told him. He silently led me to a kitchen.

"What do you want?" He asked. I shrugged. I wasn't really hungry, but I was actually getting tired. He made me a sandwich and sat beside me while I ate.

"I don't like people watching me while I eat." I said.

"I know. Sorry." The Dark Ace told me. He looked awkwardly around the room. I blushed and continued eating.

"Thank you for the food." I told him quietly, pushing my bowl away.

"You're welcome." He told me, taking the bowl.

"Thanks." I mumbled. He put the bowl up and smiled at me as I yawned.

"Let's go back to bed." He told me. I nodded lazily and stood. The Dark Ace smirked and took my hand. I wanted to yank mine away, but I didn't. _He gave you food, a room to sleep in, and hasn't hurt you once. This can be your way to think him. _I told myself.

He led me up to my room. "Go to sleep now. I'll wake you for breakfast." He told me, leaving. I covered up in the bed and drifted off within the hour.

* * *

I woke up to the Dark Ace knocking on my door. "Come in!" I called groggily. The dark Ace chuckled when he entered.

"Ah, if that isn't a sight I've missed. You never were a morning person." He said. I grinned. I couldn't help it. "About time i got a smile out of you. Get dressed. Breakfast is about to start." He told me.

I opened the closet and picked some sweats and a t-shirt. Then, I brushed my hair and met the Dark Ace in the hall.

We entered the cafeteria and got our breakfast. I ate silently, thinking. "Hello? Alexis? Are you okay?" The Dark Ace asked.

"Hm? Oh, yeah." I told him.

"Are you sure? I said your name three times." The Dark Ace told me.

"I'm okay. I'm just thinking." I told him.

"About what?" He asked.

"Stuff."

"What stuff?"

"Everything." I finally admitted.

"Alexis... Are you ever going to forgive me?" The Dark Ace whispered in my ear, not wanting to sound weak around everyone.

"I don't know. That's one of the things I'm thinking about." I admitted.

"What else have you been thinking about?" He asked again.

"Just _stuff_!" I exclaimed, getting annoyed. He finally left me to my thoughts. We finished our breakfast and walked to my room.

"Ready to go to Tropica?" The Dark Ace asked.

"I guess." I said.

"Do you really wanna go?" He asked.

"Uhh... Well, it's just that I was there a couple of days ago when the raptors found me." I told him.

"Did they hurt you?" The Dark Ace asked.

"They treated me like a lab rat, so I guess." I admitted.

"What do you mean?" The Dark Ace asked.

"They put a shock collar on me and if I did anything wrong, they shocked me. Then, they put me in a maze and if I flew, stopped, or slowed down, they shocked me." I told him, my eyes filling at the memory.

"Was it bad?" He asked. I nodded. "I'm sorry I let that happen, Alexis."

"It wasn't your fault." I told him. He pulled me into an embrace and I froze. It was the same embrace. _He'd only wanted to protect me and make me happy. _"You are Wil. And you still love me." I said quietly.

"You don't know how much I've wanted you to relize that. Do you forgive me?" Ace asked.

"Of course."

* * *

**Me: Awwww! Sappy ending!**

**Ravess: That sort of sucked.**

**Me: No it didn't Sappy endings are adorable!**

**Ravess: Right.**

**Me: Anyway, I have a few things to say about this chapter. First of all, sorry for switching points of veiws so much and making them so short. A page of notebook paper is equal to, like, three lines on here.**

**Ravess: What does that one squadron's name mean? Did you makke it up?**

**Me: No. Riders del Cielo means sky riders in Italian. I thought since I had the Italian theme going there, I'd keep it going.**

**Ravess: Alright then.**

**Me: We're nearing the end guys! I don't even know what's gonna happen in the last chapter! I might have an idea though so you better review! This took forty-eight notebook pages and twelve computer pages.**

**Word count: 5941**


	12. Questions and Secret Plans

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**Questions and Secret Plans**

**Junko: It's been forever!**

**Me: I know, I know. *bows head in shame* There were some family problems and my birthday...**

**Junko: Your birthday's not an excuse.**

**Me: It is to me! I'm gonna be finishing up this story pretty soon. I've got most of it and planned out, and you are in for a surprise!**

**Junko: Number1stormhawksfan does not own Storm Hawks, but she does own Alexis, the idea of Will, Alejandro, Roberto, Fernando, Terra Perfection, the Perfectionists, and her idea. She shares the ownership of Vendetta with Number2stormhawksfan.**

**

* * *

**

It had been a couple of days since Ace and I had made up. I was wandering through the halls of Cyclonia while he was speaking to Master Cyclonis about a mission. I paused at the stairs to the dungeons._"Never go down there."_ That's what the Dark Ace had told me. What was down there that I wasn't supposed to know about? They wouldn't have... Perfectionists down there. Would they? I'd been wanting to see what was down there anyway. Maybe I'd meet up with the Riders del Cielo. I glanced both ways before starting down the stairs.

It was almost pitch black down there, but I couldn't turn on any lights or someone would find me. I quietky tiptoed through the hall, looking timidly into the cells. Everyone looked terrifying. They were all in horrible shape. I held my breath and stunbled away. I had a feeling that this was why Ace didn't want me down here. "Hey! Perfectionist!" Someone called. I froze and turned slowly. It was Alejandro.

"Alejandro?" I asked.

"Yeah. Come here." He said. I walked slowly over to his cell. Vendetta, Roberto, and Fernando were in there too. "I need you to grab that key over there."

"I, I... I can't." I said.

"Why not?" Vendetta demanded angrily.

"Ace trusts me..." I stuttered.

"So? Lots of people trusted _him_ before he killed them." She told me.

"I..."

"Just grab the key." Alejandro said.

"I have to go. Ace will be looking for me." I said. Then, I turned and ran.

"Wait!" Vendetta called. I didn't stop. I ran up the stairs, and right into Ace.

He grabbed my arm. "What were you doing down there?" He demanded.

"I..." I began. I was shaking and he could feel it.

"I told you not to go down there. Come on, let's get away from here." He said, taking my hand and pulling me away. I followed willingly, wanting to be as far away as I could be from the Riders del Cielo.

* * *

"So what did you see down there?" Ace asked.

"The Riders del Cielo asked me to free them, but I didn't. I ran out when they kept pressuring me." I said.

"And the other prisoners?" He asked. I nodded. "Why did you go down there?" He asked.

"I wanted to know what you were hiding from me." I said.

"Well now you know."

"I also know why." I said.

"What did you _think_ was down there?" He demanded.

"I wasn't for sure. I thought maybe you had some Perfectionists down there and you didn't want me to know." I admitted.

"I see..."

"What was your meeting with Master Cyclonis about?" I asked.

"I'm going on a mission tomorrow. During the time that I'm gone, she's going to question you." He said.

I began to panic. "I thought you were gonna be with me when she questioned me." I said.

"Don't worry. Just answer her questions honestly and you'll be fine." Ace reassured me.

"Okay." I said. "What kind of questions will she ask me?"

"Like I said before, just about our home and how you lived." He told me.

"Shouldn't be too hard." I said.

"It's completely painless." He told me.

"I guess I'd rather be asked than tested on." I said, referring to the Raptors.

"Don't talk about that. Don't even think about it. Actually, scratch that. Tell Master Cyclonis. She may be able to do something about that." Ace told me.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Get revenge." He told me.

"How?"

"Master Cyclonis has her ways." Ace smiled slyly at me and I smiled slightly back.

* * *

Alejandro smirked as the Perfectionist ran out of the hall. "What are you so happy about? We just lost our only ticket out of here! Now she'll probably run to her _Acey_ and tell him!" Vendetta yelled, frustrated.

"Calm down, Vendetta. I got what I needed." Alejandro said.

"What did you need?" Vendetta demanded.

"This radio." Alejandro said, pulling out Alexis' radio and smirking.

"You need a _radio?_ I need out of here! I'm claustrophobic and these cells are so dreary!" Vendetta sanpped.

"This radio is going to get us out. We'll kill two birds with one stone." Alejandro said.

"How?" Fernando asked, standing from his perch at the wall.

"Here's the plan..."

* * *

I was in my bathroom, getting ready for bed. I'd grabbed my pajamas and was changing out of them. Once I was in my pajamas, I realized that something was missing. _My radio..._ Ace had given me a radio in case I ever need to contact him. I threw open the door to my bathroom and darted across the hall. I knocked rapidly and Ace swung the door open. "What is it?" He asked urgently.

"My radio's gone! I think Alejandro may have taken it!" I exclaimed.

"Alexis...! You don't have to come with me, but I'm going down there." He said.

"I'll come." I said.

"I'd rather you didn't." He said.

"This is my fault. I need to help." I said defiantly.

"Fine." Ace sighed. We cautiously walked down the stairs to the dungeons. I avoided looking into any cells other than the Riders del Cielo's. My radio was in front of their cell, just out of reach.

"You dropped it, Perfectionist." Roberto told me.

Ace glared at him and handed my radio to me. "You got lucky this time." He hissed. I looked away sadly at the anger in his voice.

Once we were out of the dungeon, I said, "Ace... I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"You have to listen to me, Alexis! Everything that I do is to keep you from getting hurt, but you seem to have a knack for getting in trouble!" Ace snapped. Tears filled my eyes and I looked away again. When we reached our rooms, I was about to turn to enter mine when he swung me around into a hug. I hugged him back. "I suppose I should just be grateful that they didn't get to use the radio." He said. I smiled slightly, but said nothing. "Goodnight, Alexis." He leaned down to kiss me, but I dodged out of the way.

"Goodnight, Ace." I said, turning and walking into my room, leaving him stunned in the middle of the hallway.

* * *

"Storm Hawks! Come in!"

"This is the Storm Hawks. Aerrow, sky knight, speaking." Aerrow said into the radio.

"This is Alejandro of the Riders del Cielo. We've been captured. We're in Cyclonia."

"You guys were captured? How'd you get a radio? Cyclonia doesn't follow the one call for prisoners rule." Aerrow said.

"That's the other part of the story. Your Perfectionist, ah... Alexis. She trusts the Dark Ace again. She refused to let us out when we asked her. I swiped this radio off of her. We need you to get here fast. Master Cyclonis is speaking to her tomorrow." Alejandro shared.

"We're close to Cyclonia now. Just hang in there. We'll be there as soon as we can." Aerrow said.

"May lucky winds blow at your back." Alejandro said, before signing off.

* * *

Ace woke me up early in the morning. "Really?" I groaned.

He chuckled and said, "Just wanted to tell you bye before I leave. I won't be back for another couple of days." He said.

"See ya." I said. He left and I fell promptly back asleep,only to be woken up an hour later by a talon.

"Master Cyclonis is ready to speak with you." He said. I shrieked and shot out of bed. I glared at him. "Please, get ready." He said. He left the room. I sighed and went into my bathroom.

"I get no privacy here." I muttered. I changed into some clothes and brushed my hair and teeth quickly before meeting the talon outside the door. "I know the way." I told him.

"She requested that you be escorted." He explained.

"Fine, fine." I said, following him down the hall.

I entered Master Cyclonis' throne room alone. "Hello, Alexis. I hope you slept well."

"Yeah, except for being scared out of my wits by the talon." I said.

She forced a smile and said, "And I hope you're ready to _honestly _answer some questions?"

"Yeah." I said.

"Very good. Have a seat." She said. I sat and she began:

"How exactly does your mind work?"

"Uh... I don't know exactly. My thoughts just happen."

"I suppose that was an impossible question..." _Yeah. How does your mind work?_ I thought. "... How does your power work?"

"I can't control it yet, but when I can, all I have to do is picture what I want to happen. You have to meditate for at least fifteen minutes a day, and that's being easy-going. You need complete focus or your mind will wander and you'll make something unintentional happen." I explained.

"And your wings? How do you fly?"

"I just acted on instinct the first time I flew, which was when I crashed my skimmer escaping Terra Perfection. We aren't taught to fly unless it's absolutely nessacary." I said.

The questioning continued like this for some time until she finally asked, "So what happened when you were with the Raptors? The Dark Ace said they did some things that he did not approve of."

"Well, they put a shock collar around my neck and if I flew or misbehaved, they shocked me. Then, they made me run a maze and if I flew, stopped, or even slowed down they shocked me. They kept me in a cage, fed me only what I needed to survive, and put clips on my wings. They took too many blood samples to where I could hardly even speak."

"Did you do something to make them take these measures?" Master Cyclonis asked.

"Not really. I resisted slightly when they told me they were taking me with them, but I only said no. Then, they knocked me out. I also objected when they said they were gonna see if I was worth anything to them, but I'd also been in a pitch black cage." I explained.

"Worth anything to _them?"_ Master Cyclonis asked.

"You might wanna know this. I was listening to then while they were talking, they thought I was asleep, and they were talking about using me to beat you guys and take over the Atmos." I told her.

"_Beat_ us and _take over the Atmos!" _Master Cyclonis demanded, her voice rising. I shrank back slightly and nodded. She took a deep breath and said, "Thank you, Alexis, for being so cooperative and telling me these things. You may go now. And don't concern yourself with the Raptors. I'll ake sure that they are taken care of." She told me. I stood and bowed slightly before I left.

* * *

**Me: It was kind of short, but I have a feeling that the next chapter will be pretty long.**

**Snipe: Why do you say that?**

**Me: Because it's the last chapter! There's a twist too. Review if you want to know the twist sooner! The more reviews I get, the more encourage I'll be to update faster!**

**Snipe: REVIEW, PEOPLE!**

**Word count: 2232**


	13. The End

**Me: This is it! The last chapter!**

**Aerrow: Are you gonna make a sequal?**

**Me: I don't know. Maybe in time.**

**Aerrow: How much time?**

**Me: However much time I want! There's gonna be A LOT of jumping around in this chapter. It is the last chapter, after all!**

**Aerrow: Okay, okay! Number1stormhawksfan does not own Storm Hawks, but she does own Alexis, the idea of Will, Alejandro, Roberto, Fernando, Terra Perfection, the Perfectionists, and her idea. She shares the ownership of Vendetta with Number2stormhawksfan.**

**Me: *lets out a small sob* That might be the last disclaimer for this story.**

**

* * *

**"Master Cyclonis..." The Dark Ace's voice crackled through the radio system in Master Cyclonis' lab. She walked over to the radio and picked it up.

"Yes, Dark Ace?" She asked.

"The Condor is just outside of Cyclonian territory, and they seem to be planning something." He reported.

"Which Cyclonian territory? Gale?" She asked.

"No. The main Cyclonian territory." He said.

"Get back here now and prepare to defend against invasion." Master Cyclonis decided.

"Did you get any information from Alexis?" The Dark Ace asked.

"Yes. I also got some interesting news about the raptors." She hissed slightly.

"I'm on my way back now, Master." He said.

"Good. Make it fast."

* * *

A knock sounded on the door. I looked up, confused. "Come in!" I called. A talon entered and I stared at him, completely confused. "Ummm... Hello. May I help you?" I asked.

"Master Cyclonis wished for me to inform you that the Dark Ace is on his way back. She wishes to speak with you one more time. Please follow me." He said, turning and exiting. I jumped up and followed him.

"Do you know _why_ she wants she wants to talk to me again?" I asked.

"No." The talon admitted. I followed him the rest of the way silently. He directed me into her lab and I cautiously entered.

"Master Cyclonis?" I asked softly.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Um, you need to speak with me again?" I asked.

"Yes. Have you had any contact with anyone outside of Cyclonis since you've been here?" She asked.

"No... Why? Who would I have contacted?" I asked.

"Oh, I don't know... the _Storm Hawks?"_ She asked, carefully watching my reaction.

"No. I haven't had any contact at all. Why?" I asked.

"It seems that they're coming." Master Cyclonis said.

"What? I didn't call them, I'm fine here." I told her.

"Is there any way that someone else could've contacted them?" She asked.

"No, I don't think so... Wait, I dropped my radio once and Alejandro of the Riders del Cielo might have gotten ahold on it. We didn't think he could reach it..."

"But maybe he threw it." Master Cyclonis finished.

"What does this mean?" I asked.

"That we need to secure the prisoners. Talons!" She yelled. Two guards entered. "Get back-up and raise the guard in the prison cells. I'll send the Dark Ace down when he gets here." She added. The guards nodded and left.

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked.

"Why?" She demanded.

"Well, I feel like this is kinda my fault." I shared.

"Well, it's not. Go to your room and stay there." She told me.

"But...!" I began.

"Listen. The best way for you to help us is to stay out of our way and stay hidden if a battle starts." She said.

I sighed and said, "Okay." I began to walk back to my room.

* * *

"We're almost there." Stork said.

Aerrow sighed and said, "We're too late! I'll bet that Cyclonis has already gotten Alexis to tell her everything."

"Uh, guys! We've got talons headed our way!" Finn called.

"And now they know we're coming. It couldn't get any worse." Stork said.

"Yes, it could. The Dark Ace is with them." Junko said.

* * *

Alejandro smirked as a Cyclonian talon walked toward their prison. The talon handed him a Stun Crystal. "Much appreciated." He said.

"Your plan had better work." The talon, who was a girl, said.

"Oh, it will. And there will be a little surprise at the end for everyone if it goes properly." He said. The talon nodded and walked away.

* * *

Aerrow flew out on his skimmer with his team and headed straight for the Dark Ace, as usual. The battle had begun. Stork began firing on talons behind them from the Condor. Aerrow gritted his teeth as the Dark Ace smirked. "Come to be beaten? Face it, Aerrow, you're outnumbered by a few thousand. And how foolish of you to attack us on our head tower. There's always a replcement for every talon you take out." He gloated. Before he could say more, Aerrow flew forward and tried to swipe his sword across the Dark Ace's skimmer. He swerved out of the way and glared daggers at Aerrow.

"Let's spend less time chatting and more time settling this, shall we?" Aerrow asked.

"Whatever you say." The Dark Ace said, flying toward him.

* * *

Piper flew straight toward the main palace of Cyclonia. It was her job to get the Riders del Celio out of their cell. As she made it through the first wave of talons, taking out all who tried to follow her, another wave barroled our of the hanger bay of Cyclonia. She swerved away. She wasn't planning on landing at the hanger bay anyway. She pressed her heliscooter to go faster. _Please don't let any talons see me._ She pleaded to an unknown source. Two shots flew past her. "I've never had very good luck." She said quietly to herself as she turned her heliscooter to take on the talons. She pulled out her staff and twirled it above her head before maneuvering her heliscooter to charge toward the talons. She shot a Frost Crystal at one, freezing his skimmer and making it useless. She shot a Paralyzer at the other, so that it couldn't control the skimmer. It was just as eay as that. Piper giggled as she watched a talon deploy his parachute.

* * *

Finn had his crossbow positioned in front of him, shooting down talons with his flawless aim. "Chicka-cha," was said many, many times. His job was to keep the talons occupied while Piper flew to Cyclonia. It wasn't too hard. They weren't very smart. Finn smirked to himself at this thought. It's almost like they weren't tryi... "Shoot! Aw, man!" Finn grumbled as a talon hit his skimmer and it began smoking. He fell through the sky and below the cloudline. He screamed the entire way down. _It doesn't even feel like I'm falling anymore! I must be falling deathly fast! _He thought.

"Uh, Finn? You can stop screaming now." Piper said, giggling.

Finn slowly opened one eye, then the other, and looked at Piper, who was smirking in amusement at his stupidity. "Uhh... I meant to do that. Wanted to be, um, funny." He said quickly, trying to defend his male pride.

"Riiiight. Male pride." Piper rolled her eyes as she headed toward Cyclonia under the cloud line.

* * *

Junko had snuck ahead of everyone and into Cyclonia before the battle had even begun. His job was to hold back the guards while Piper got the Riders del Celio out of the prisons. It shouldn't be too hard, unless there was a commander down there guarding them. He could take care of some talons, but he wasn't so sure about a commander. He crept to a crate and looked around it. There was a hallway straight ahead of him and the coast was clear. He hurried across the room and into the hall. Now where has Piper said the dungeons were? "Hey!" Junko spun around to be face to face with a talon.

Junko screamed and, in a panic, slugged the talon, knocking him out cold. "Oops. Well, I guess I could use the uniform to get down to the dungeons..."

* * *

Stork swerved the Condor to the side, hitting a group of talons and knocking them off their skimmers. He chuckled as he watched their parachutes deploy. "This is too easy." He said.

Suddenly, the entire ship shook. Stork grabbed the scopes and looked around. "Spoke too soon." They'd finally wisened up and brought out a cruisor. Stork turned and faced the cruisor, which immediately started shooting. He couldn't just ram it, and he needed someone else to shoot the blasters. He grabbed his radio and said, "I'm out. I can't take care of that cruisor unless I have someone who can blast it onboard."

"Just keep taking care of the talons. Ignore the ship." Aerrow commanded.

Stork groaned and said, "Got it."

* * *

I stared out at the battle from my room. Once again, I was useless in a battle. Then again, who would I fight for. The people who had taken me in when I had nowhere else to go, or the person who had been my one true friend all my life. Up until I met the Storm Hawks, that is. I tried to point out all the Storm Hawks. There was Aerrow. Stork was almost definitely on the Condor. Where were Piper, Finn, and Junko. Of course... Sneaking into Cyclonia to get the prisoners out. But... If I warned Master Cyclonis, I was betraying the Storm Hawks. If I didn't warn her, I was betraying Ace. Oh, what could I do.

I walked to the window and looked out sadly. "Oh, Storm Hawks. Why did you attack? Why couldn't you just stay away?" I asked sadly.

* * *

Master Cyclonis watched the battle from her throne room. It had the perfect view. She smiled as she watched her talons successfully hold the Storm Hawks back. The Condor couldn't even fight back against her battle airship. "And now that I have another Perfectionist, the Atmos will surely be mine." She said quietly to herself. She chuckled darkly.

"Master Cyclonis..." A talon announced himself.

"Speak." She said darkly, not turning to face him.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" She hissed.

"I called your name five times and you were..." He paused nervously, thinking that perhaps he shouldn't have even asked.

"Yes...?" She prompted.

"You were... talking to yourself." He said.

Master Cyclonis widened her eyes. Then, she spun around and yelled, "CAN I GET NO PRIVACY? OUT! GET OUT!"

The talon cowered for a moment before he dashed out of the room as if his life depended on it. Maybe it did...

* * *

The Dark Ace smirked as he flew toward Aerrow. He pulled out his sword and landed a hit on one of the wings. He had just gained Alexis' trust back, and he wasn't giving her up. Not now. "You do know why your master wants Alexis, don't you?" Aerrow called.

"Of course I do. For her power." The Dark Ace said.

"So you _don't _love her! I knew it! This is all just a twisted game to you and Master Cyclonis!" Aerrow yelled, outraged.

"Not really, but that's nothing of your concern. Alexis will willingly give up her powers to Master Cyclonis and no harm will be done. Now, enough chat..." He flew forward and jumped off his ride. He landed on Aerrow's skimmer.

"You just wait until we get Alexis back! You just wait until she hears that you don't love her." Aerrow taunted cockily.

"She won't be taken away from Cyclonia." The Dark Ace stated.

"What makes you so confident? We've won every time before." Aerrow said.

"I plan to finish you this time. And there's no one to stop me." The Dark Ace said, laughing as he pulled out his dual-bladed sword. Aerrow quickly jumped up and pulled out his two blades. They connected with the Dark Ace's weapon in a clash of light and sparks.

* * *

Junko snuck down to the dungeons in the guards uniform. _"Are the guards still in the dungeons?" _Piper asked Junko through his earcom.

"Not for long." He whispered.

"Back-up! We need back-up out on the battlefield! I'll stay down here, you all go! The Dark Ace's orders!" Junko yelled.

The talons quickly glanced at each other, then nodded. They ran out of the dungeons as Junko stood, smiling to himself. "It's clear, Piper." He said into his earcom.

_"Great. Good job, Junko. Finn and I will be down in a bit." _Piper said.

* * *

Finn and Piper snuck down into the dungeons. "Junko?" Piper called.

"Hey buddy!" Finn exclaimed as he saw Junko.

Piper slapped him on the back of the head and whispered, "Shh!"

"Why? The guards are all on the battlefield and..."

"Who is that?" A talon asked from the top of the stairs. Piper and Finn dived out of the way. Junko stood in their place.

"I'm guarding the prisons." He said, waving slightly.

"Hmm... Is anyone else down there with you?" The talon asked.

"Nope! They were all called out to the battle." Junko said.

"I could've swore I heard other voices. Or a conversation... You're not talking to any of the prisoners, are you? You new or something? Well, don't let those prisoners get into your head. They're sneaky. If they get away, Master Cyclonis will have all of our hides."

"Will do!"

The talon stalked off and the three Storm Hawks sighed in relief. "That was too close." Junko said.

"_And _that's why you should be quiet, Finn." Piper said as Finn stuck out his tongue.

* * *

Aerrow pulled back from the sword-lock that he'd just engaged the Dark Ace in. "What's the matter, Aerrow? Losing your touch?" The Dark Ace taunted.

_'Don'__t get mad. That's what he wants. I won't be able to control myself as well in a blind rage.' _Aerrow thought to himself. He swung at the Dark Ace again, who blocked it. Then, he quickly moved under the sword and kicked Aerrow. Aerrow landed on the wing of his skimmer and the Dark Ace pressed his sword to the sky knight's throat.

* * *

I peeked out my door. The coast was clear. I snuck out and made my way slowly to the dungeons. I had to be careful and listen for talons. "Hey! What are you doing out of your room?" So much for listening for talons.

"I have to go tell Master Cyclonis something." I told him.

"Then, I'll take you." He said.

"No! Stay at your post! I saw a skimmer headed this way and I'm going to tell her. Actually, you should probably go to the hanger bay to watch out for any mysterious rides." I said.

"There was a skimmer headed here...? Well, hurry along to Master Cyclonis and be careful. I'm going to the hanger bay like you suggested." He said, turning and walking away. I smiled and continued toward the dungeons.

* * *

"Storm Hawks!" Alejandro exclaimed.

"Yeah, we're here." Finn said.

"I knew we could count on you. Hurry and get us out. Then, we can rescue the Perfectionist." He said.

"Where's the key?" Piper asked.

"Over there on that table! Hurry!" Vendetta yelled. Piper rushed to the table and grabbed the keys.

"Got it! Just a second while I unlock the door..." Piper said, jamming the key into the lock. The door swun open and the Riders del Celio stepped out.

"Thank you, Storm Hawks. We are in your debt." Fernando said.

"No problem. Now, let's go. We have to get Alexis." Finn said.

"Is your sky knight still out there?" Roberto asked.

"Yes. He's battling the Dark Ace." Junko said.

"I'll go to aid him." He said.

"Good idea, Roberto. Go." Alejandro said.

* * *

Aerrow glared up at the Dark Ace. "End of the road, sky knight! pity. You would've made an excellent talon." The Dark Ace said.

_This isn't the end. This can't be the end. _Aerrow thought. The head talon prepared to finally end this long battle when a blast hit him out of nowhere.

"Hey there, sky knight! Thought you might need some help!" A man's voice called. Aerrow looked up. It was Roberto!

"Thanks! Just in time." Aerrow said. He stood and grabbed his blade. He had lost track of the other one. He quickly jumped toward the Dark Ace and knocked him off the skimmer. Of course, he landed on his ride and the battle began all over again, but this time Aerrow had Roberto and the advantage.

* * *

I walked down the steps to the dungeons, running into a talon. "Oh! I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed. Maybe he wouldn't notice that I wasn't supposed to be down here.

"Alexis?" A girl asked.

"Piper?" I asked.

"Yeah! We snuck in and..."

I looked around her and saw the Riders del Celio. "You've broken the prisoners out. I was on my way down to do that." I said.

"Yeah. Now come on. Come with us and we'll get out of here." Junko told me, grabbing my arm.

"Um, I was actually just gonna stay here..." I began.

"Do you really wanna face Master Cyclonis' wrath when she finds out that it was your fault that we got out. You did leave your radio and we got it to call the Storm Hawks. Why don't you just come with us. We'll keep you safe." Alejandro told me.

"Well..." _Will Master Cyclonis really be that mad. It is Master Cyclonis... _"Okay." I said.

"Good. You can ride with me." He said.

* * *

Aerrow and Roberto were successfully holding the Dark Ace back when a group of skimmers flew out of Cyclonia. _Back-up? _Aerrow thought.

"It's the others. Let's get out of here before..." Roberto's voice dropped to a whisper, "before he realizes that the Perfectionist is with them."

"Got it. Let's run." Aerrow said before he called to the Dark Ace, "Alright, alright! We give up! We're retreating." The Dark Ace looked at him suspiciously.

"Fly." Rberto said as the group drove past. Aerrow turned away, throwing a glare over his shoulder at the Dark Ace.

* * *

I smiled a small smile at Aerrow. He smiled back. "Good to see you again. And not hurt at all." He said.

"The Cyclonians would never hurt me. Well... Ace wouldn't." I said.

"Then why did you leave?" He asked.

"I guess I wanna get out. See the Atmos. Maybe even run around by myself." I said.

"I don't know about that..." Aerrow said.

"As I've said before, Aerrow, that's not your choice to make." I said.

"How about we take you to Terra Xoam so you can see the jungle." Alejandro suggested.

"A jungle?" I asked. He nodded. "I've never seen a jungle before!" I smiled.

"Then let's go." Aerrow said.

* * *

We arrived at Terra Xoam. There were trees everywhere. I looked around cautiously and only got off the skimmer when the others did. "What do you think?" Fernando asked.

"Um, lots of trees." I said.

"Duh. It's a jungle." Vendetta said, rolling her eyes. I frowned and looked over to the Storm Hawks. They smiled.

"How about I show you around." Alejandro said.

"Sure." I said.

"Storm Hawks, why don't you ready the Condor for the trip to Terra Perfection? We'll take care of her." Vendetta suggested.

"Um, alright." Aerrow said.

"Great. Let's go, Alexis." Roberto said. We set off into the jungle.

* * *

Anything below my knees was covered in mud. "It must've just rained." Roberto said.

"Great." I said, pulling my foot up as mud dripped off of it.

"Don't worry about the mud. That's the least you have to worry about." Alejandro said darkly.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, there's the Cyclonians..."

"No offense, but I don't really have to worry much about them. I'd worry about you guys before I worried about Ace." I said.

"And why is that?" Fernando asked.

"Simple. I don't know you as well as I know him."

* * *

The Storm Hawks were checking all the systems on the ship. "Has anyone else noticed that all the Riders del Celio were acting strange? Actually, they've been acting weird since they were taken into Cyclonia." Aerrow pondered aloud.

"I didn't notice anything, dude. They seemed normal enough to me." Finn said.

"I just can't help the feeling that Alexis isn't safe with them." Aerrow admitted.

"She's safer with them than she was in Cyclonia, that's for sure." Junko said.

"Maybe you're just a little bit protective of her since she's gotten taken away from us so many times." Piper said.

"Hey... Does our boy have a crush?" Finn asked.

"No. It's just... I feel like she's my responsibility. Almost like she's my sister. I found her and didn't take her home. Now look at all she's been through because of that. This time, I'm getting her home. It's my duty as a sky knight and as a good-willed person." Aerrow said.

"Well... If you really feel that strongly about it... Go find them. We'll deal with the ship." Piper said.

* * *

The Dark Ace called back to Master Cyclonis. "I'm going after them and I'm finishing this!"

"Dark Ace, don't you want to plan first?" Master Cyclonis asked calmly through the radio.

"No! I don't have time. I'll lose her again!" He yelled.

"Fine. Go. Don't blame me for the consequences." She hissed.

* * *

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Nowhere in particular. Just wandering." Fernando said.

"I want to go back to the Condor now." I said.

"No! Let's keep going." Alejandro said.

"You guys can. I think I'm going to head back." I said.

"But aren't you afraid you'll get lost. This is a very dense and confusing jungle. Why don't you just stick with us and we'll escort you back in a few minutes." Roberto said.

"I'll be fine. I can just fly. It'll be much easier to find my way from the air." I said as I turned to take off.

"I don't think so, Perfectionist. You're staying with us." Vendetta said, grabbing my arm.

"Why? What do you want with me?" I demanded.

"Let's just say we have a little surprise planned." Alejandro said.

* * *

"Sir. We've recieved a tip that the Storm Hawks have landed on Terra Xoam." A talon told the Dark Ace.

"Very good. That's where we're going." He said.

"I also recieved news that they're planning on taking the Perfectionist back to Terra Perfection." The talon said.

"All the more reason to hurry. Roberto is such an excellent spy. The Storm Hawks and Riders del Celio will never know what hit them."

* * *

Fernando had tied me to a tree. I glared at Alejandro, who had pulled out his sword. "Why are you doing this?" I asked.

"You're too much of a risk to the Atmos. Your powers are very strong and you don't even know how to defend yourself." He said.

"I can learn to fight! I'm planning onlearning to fight! I want to help the Atmos, not endanger it!"

"All the same, you are a danger to this world and cannot be left alive." Alejandro walked towards me with his sword drawn.

"I can't let you do that, Alejandro." Roberto said, stepping in front of me.

"Move out of my way, Roberto. The Perfectionist must die."

"No. I won't let it happen." Roberto pulled out his sword and faced Alejandro.

"I see how it's going to be. This just got a lot more interesting." Alejandro smiled and swung his blade at Roberto's throat.

* * *

The Dark Ace landed on Terra Xoam. He immediately made his way to the Condor. The Storm Hawks met him outside, weapons drawn. "I'm not here to fight. Where's Alexis?" He asked.

"Not here." Piper said.

"Then where?" The Dark Ace hissed.

"What makes you think we'd tell you?" Junko demanded.

"Where else would she be... in the jungle with the Riders del Celio and Aerrow. Talons! Hold them back while I go find them!" He commanded. Then, he made his escape as the talons occupied the Storm Hawks.

* * *

Roberto dodged out of the way of another one of Alejandro's lethal blows. "You're going to have to do better than that." He said. They locked swords.

"Why are you trying to stop me? You know that this is for the better! You know that this for the greater good of the Atmos!" Alejandro hissed. Roberto swung his sword and tripped Alejandro.

"In my veiw, this isn't for the greater good of anyone." He said.

"Who are you working for? It's obviously not me."

"You're right. But why would I tell you my employers? I don't find it to be any of your business." Roberto said. Alejandro jumped up and attacked once again. Roberto ducked under the sword, but Alejandro was ready. He kicked Roberto and knocked him over.

"Vendetta! Fernando! Hold him back!" Alejandro commanded. Vendetta and Fernando drew their weapons and held them out to Roberto. Alejandro walked towards me again. I struggled desperately against the bonds.

"You don't have to do this, Alejandro! She's just a kid!" Roberto yelled.

"What's the point you've been trying to make, Alexis? Oh yes. She's not a child. She's almost eighteen." Alejandro said, turning toward me.

* * *

Aerrow burst into an empty clearing. He could hear shouts. He was getting closer to Alexis and the Riders del Celio, and something was going on. Suddenly, the Dark Ace darted into the clearing as well. "What are you doing here?" Aerrow demanded.

"As much as I would love a fight, those shouts can't mean anything good. I'd suggest that if you care about Alexis at all, you'd forget about me and go get the rest of your team." The Dark Ace told him. Then, he turned and ran toward the shouts. Aerrow paused, puzzled, for a moment before he followed the Dark Ace. They ran into the clearing just in time to see the unthinkable.

"Alexis!"

* * *

I screamed as Alejandro plunged the blade into my stomach. Ace ran forward and shoved him away. "What have you done?" He yelled, cutting the ropes. I fell to the ground and he pulled me against him.

"Why did you do this?" I heard Aerrow demanded.

"Alexis. Alexis. You can't die. I need you. I don't want to live without you." Ace was teling me.

"Ace. It's okay. I don't feel any pain." I said.

"That doesn't matter! You're dying! Aerrow, can we take her back to your ship?"

"I don't know if she'll make it..."

"She has to!" The voices were beginning to blur together.

"I wasn't meant for this place." I whispered before I was consumed by darkness.

* * *

I opened my eyes. There was know pain. Only light...

**

* * *

**

**Me: The end!**

**Ace: That was the end? You can't have a cliffhanger ending!**

**Me: Yes I can. I am the author.**

**Ace: Is she dead?**

**Me: I don't know. Use your imagination.**

**Ace: What about a sequel?**

**Me: Only the reviews will decide.**


	14. Author's Note

Thank you to everyone who reviewed to my last chapter. I really appreciate it. I really want to make a sequel, but there's a problem. I have absolutely NO IDEAS! So if I can get some ideas, I'll give credit for the help and make a sequel. I'll also try to link together all the ideas I get somehow so that every one is used. Thanks again for reviewing and please PM or review ideas!


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